I'm loving True Detective. I don't understand the pushback at all. Feels a bit sour grapes really and maybe because there's a woman running things - I don't like to think that that might be why Season 1 fanboys are up in arms but I have my suspicions. Mr & Mrs Smith might be my favourite show of the year. It feels so effortless. I'm actually pleased PWB dropped out because she tends to give the same performance and I'm not sure her and Donald Glover would have had the same incredible chemistry. I'm slightly annoyed at Prime Video for releasing it all because I'd love to have an episode to watch once a week. I'm aware I could ration it myself but hey. Thanks so much for the newsletter Alan, i always enjoy it.
Yes, definitely loving TD S4 so far, but it's also right up my alley with minor The Thing vibes and the cold and the dark and minor horror vibes and unexplained stuff. Love all of that! Really excited to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith when I get the chance. Donald Glover can do no wrong in my eyes. I also don't totally get the "Superman-meets-Spider-Man" aspect of PWB with Glover. I get that she did Fleabag which everyone loves, but has she done anything oh-so-amazing besides that one thing? Recently, she was fine/serviceable in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but she didn't really elevate the material or anything.
I've always seen her as a better writer than performer. Fleabag worked because it was her story but I often don't buy her in other things and I can't imagine her here at all.
Even among her writing credits listed on IMDb, I thought Killing Eve was fine, but nothing especially great. No Time to Die felt like just another Bond film to me, nothing especially transcendent. I haven't seen Crashing or Drifters, so I can't comment on them. But I have yet to be blown away by her writing outside of Fleabag.
The first season of Killing Eve (the only one she was involved with) felt unlike anything else at the time. Really funny, exciting and unpredictable but I agree the others haven't really hit. Mr and Mrs Smith is brilliant though and I'm really glad DG and Maya have such incredible chemistry.
Yeah, that's fair. I will give her both Fleabag and S1 of Killing Eve haha. And I'm not writing her off in general, I'm excited to see what she creates next, but I guess Glover + PWB doesn't excite me to some far greater degree than Glover + Francesca Sloane creating with Erskine co-starring. Me too!
I'm liking True Detective as well. But I will say I think some of the pushback from people is that this one seems to be leaning into the supernatural way more than the previous season did, and by doing that it has set a completely different tone than people may have expected. I haven't watched season 1 in a while, but I remember there being some thoughts of supernatural to it, but nothing like this season where they are literally having nearly dead guys popping up to give a message from the afterlife. Anyways, I'm really enjoying it, but I can see someone really being put off from it, because it seems more like a horror show (feel like I'm getting Event Horizon vibes) than a detective show with elements of the supernatural.
I imagine it's probably one from Column A (two female leads on a show that had largely been a male-dominated space, where even Rachel McAdams was overshadowed by Farrell and Vaughn in the terrible second season), one from Column B (much more overtly supernatural). That said, I remember a LOT of anger directed at the season one finale from fanboys who had spent weeks theorizing about the Yellow King and such. That may have just been a vocal minority, but I think it's clear that Issa López was very into that aspect of the Cohle/Hart story, and decided to make it more prominent this time.
I guess I'm in the minority here - I wanted to love this show. HBO, 9 pm Sunday (prestige TV), "True Detective", Jodi Foster...but it's just not hitting for me. And that's okay. I'm not a fanboy (not a male), not a hater. I have some valid criticisms of the show (script, acting, etc). Many of us do. I hate that any criticism seems to get lumped into the "angry fanboy" category. Yes, I have seen those people, but they aren't the majority. I have seen a lot of thoughtful online discourse about some of the problems in the show.
I saw that the critical reviews for the show were outstanding - but it has disappointed me so far and not lived up to those reviews. In my opinion. I'm happy for those who are loving it. I will continue to watch because I am interested in the mystery and where it is going. I just wish it had been better done. I hope the second half of the show will resonate more with me.
I was thinking though...maybe this would work better on a binge? Not sure.
Gonna say this here and then again below: I'm not ascribing all of the dislike of Night Country to misogynist fanboys. If you don't like it, you don't like it! This is of course allowed. But a LOT of what I have encountered online has a very familiar and ugly tone to it, no matter how well some of these guys try to disguise it.
Adding to your thoughts about Percy Jackson not being renewed yet on Disney+, I think several streamers (Paramount+, Peacock, Max, & even Hulu to a degree) are having the same identity crisis with so few shows (new or returning/renewals) on the calendar. Obviously, the strikes have played a huge part in delay of shows, but decrease in quantity was planned prior to them.
I’m so glad to read your praise of Mr and Mrs smith bit looks like it could be my jam or could be corny and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it so much
I wasn't planning on watching until I read Alan's review and I enjoyed the 1st episode. I'm looking forward to how the opening scene factors into the story. (BTW, kudos to Sarah for noting that the title cards did not have a period after "Mr and Mrs".)
To be fair, I double-checked the image on Wikipedia to see if it had periods on there, but it should be accurate, it appears to be a title card from the show.
Just to close this loop haha, you two are both right, the title card(s) during the show don't have periods. But I think the "official" name of the show still does? Still an interesting detail either way.
This is going to sound aggressive, but I mean it in good faith: I feel like I'm on a different planet from everyone who's enjoying Night Country, and I find it bewildering that any acknowledgement of differing opinions comes pre-loaded with the narrative that the only people who dislike it are implicitly racist and misogynistic 'fanboys.' Pizzolatto is a blowhard with a limited bag of tricks, but one thing he knew how to do was structure a mystery/detective story, which makes sense, considering that was his background before TD. Issa Lopez does not seem to have that same skill, to the point where I honestly feel bad for her -- HBO wanted to revive this IP and she got stuck with a high-profile job that is well outside her creative wheelhouse. Feels like she's being set up to take a lot of heat that really should be directed at cynical executives for attempting to cash in on an established brand.
Also, for what it's worth, I was through-the-roof psyched for this show because the idea of Jodie Foster solving occult crimes in Alaska sounds phenomenal to me. But her character is saddled with a bunch of underwritten relationships and boring subplots, to the point where I can't even enjoy Foster's performance. Wasting Jodie Foster on this level is, I'm sorry, unforgivable.
Repeating what I said elsewhere here: I'm not ascribing all of the dislike of Night Country to misogynist fanboys. If you don't like it, you don't like it! This is of course allowed. But a LOT of what I have encountered online has a very familiar and ugly tone to it, no matter how well some of these guys try to disguise it.
I am *loving* Night Country. Maybe it's that I take it as its own thing and don't care about connections/consistencies with the other seasons. (Fun to know, don't matter to me so long as this current story works.) Jodie Foster has taken a character that is entirely unlikable on paper and turned her into someone sympathetic and riveting. And I truly care who killed Annie. The show has a great sense of place, I'm intrigued by the supernatural elements, it's totally working for me.
But wow, I had forgotten about Pizzolatto's comments about it. Those look even worse now that the show is out and most people are enjoying it. For those who don't know, publicly knocking your peers' work like this is very frowned upon in the Hollywood writer community. It's incredibly poor form and is seen as a bit of a betrayal of the profession. It's nearly impossible to make anything, much less anything good; industry pros know this and generally extend grace in public comments, even if they hated the project in question. Pizzolatto's reputation has always been bad, but damn, dude. Just shut up and count your money.
Regarding the whole "binge drop" versus week-to-week decision, I seem to recall that Poker Face dropped several episodes at once at the beginning before going week-to-week just so they could meet the Emmy Awards deadline. That happened with a bunch of shows last year, and it was pretty annoying that an arbitrary mid-year deadline would drive such a thing. Yet another reason the Emmy's should just permanently move to January or February, and base the awards on the previous calendar year.
I agree that it's nearly always a bad idea to drop all episodes at once. When Netflix first pioneered this idea, it seemed like such a cool thing to be able to binge-watch a season all in one weekend. But I think we all know by now that this leads to either a "flash in the pan" effect, where everyone talks about the show for maybe a week and then move on to other things, or it keeps a new show from even getting off the ground, since there's such a brief window of chatter about it to build word of mouth. Week to week really does seem to almost always be the better decision, as it allows word of mouth to spread gradually, people can catch up mid-season and still feel like they're joining a cultural experience, and it allows recaps and forums and stuff to keep discussing the show between episodes and keeping it in the cultural conversation. These shows seem to have a staying power that others lack. The Brothers Sun on Netflix is a good example, where I think it would be more known and better-watched if there were weekly recaps and reviews, but instead it has sort of appeared and disappeared with little fanfare.
The whole thing reminds of how dumb it is for Netflix to give their movies a tiny theatrical release or none at all. It would only benefit them, by making money at the box office but also creating a cultural conversation and word of mouth that will then convince a bunch of people to sign up for the service so they can watch it at home. They're just leaving money and subscribers on the table, for what reason? Ideological opposition to non-streaming ways of watching their movies? It doesn't make any business sense, and I don't think the binge-drop TV thing makes business sense either.
The Emmys weren't a factor in Poker Face's release schedule. The first four episodes were released January 26, 2023, and then weekly through March 9th. The Emmy qualifying window was June 1, 2022 - May 31, 2023. The only reason the ceremony was in January 2024 was due to the strikes.
Ah, my bad. I think I was mixing it up with another show (maybe Mrs. Davis?) that released a few episodes at once before going weekly, just to fit the Emmy's deadline.
As far as the ceremony, I'm just saying it *should* be in January or February permanently. Just go by the calendar year, rather than the rapidly-disappearing "traditional" TV season schedule of Fall to Spring.
I’m totally into Night Country — just a bit miffed at finding out the image of the swirl came to Annie K in a dream, since it all but kills my theory that she got her tattoo after watching True Detective Season 1.
People are welcome to be mad that True Detective S4 is not only referencing season 1 but ret-conning some very minor elements of that story, people can be mad about whatever they like. But Nic Pizzolatto really did himself no favors. There was significant criticism of how all the "Carcosa" elements turned out to be red herrings just intended for atmosphere when that first season ended. The sour grapes are really embarrassing because he sounds like a guy who is mad he couldn't follow up his one hit season of TV with anything else successful.
Out of curiosity, what elements are being retconned? It’s been so long since I watched that first season that I honestly haven’t noticed anything like that, although I have spotted a few references.
I'm referencing what other folks did the leg work on but Travis is apparently Rust Cohle's father, who he mentioned in S1 and gave some background on. S4 is riffing on that but the overall timeline doesn't match up, that's a big one. Rust also told Marty he lived in Alaska for a lengthy period prior to the later timeline in S1, so that's also an element (implies Rust may have some connection to Ennis). The swirl seen in the tattoos is a direct reference to S1 as well and the Tuttle family behind all the evil ceremonies from S1 appears to be referenced with the Tuttle Corporation that is quietly funding Tsalal. So Rust's dad vs the timelines of both shows and Rust's time in Alaska are the main ones.
One plus of this season is that most of the episodes, I think, are in that 30 minute range, albeit usually a few minutes over that. I didn't take notes on length, so I could be wrong, but I think there were only a couple that were around 40 minutes. Some of the episodes still feel long, but that's because none of the material in them is working, rather than because David and Schaffer didn't want to cut stuff.
Re: title: of course! But I can't say I'm not still excited to see some new Curb. I'm sure all of your criticisms of the new season are warranted/accurate, but, to me, it's basically just a show to "hang out" with Larry D at this point in time and get a few laughs. I'm not expecting stellar quality. I feel like my critical readings of Curb are pretty low at this point - it kind of is what it is at this point, for better or for worse.
Excited to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith! As I mentioned elsewhere, Donald Glover can't do anything wrong in my eyes, so I'm so glad you enjoyed it as well. I know you weren't as high on Swarm, but it was easily one of my top TV shows of 2023. I absolutely loved every aspect of it and Dre's creepy journey through America. Dominique Fishback was fantastic, as always. I haven't had a chance to sit down and watch any of Mr. & Mrs. Smith yet, but can't wait!
I was surprised to hear that Hijack is getting a 2nd season, given that the 1st season feels very self-contained and doesn't seem to need or even give the ability to create a 2nd season. But I suppose Idris can get stuck in a similar situation somewhere else and his son can get taken hostage again. I enjoyed Hijack S1 overall, so def don't mind getting more of that.
Sad that Dave is taking a hiatus or possibly even done. But I love Lil Dicky's music too, so I'm excited for whatever Mr. Burd wants to do next.
Count me as another heartily pro-True Detective S4 fan. I absolutely love the setting, the all-night feeling, the cold Alaska background, the scientists missing and the light The Thing vibes, Jodie Foster, all of it. Even if the supernatural parts don't pay off, this will definitely be my favorite season since the perfect season 1. And fuck Pizzolatto for being a dick about it, even though that's not surprising at all, of course.
While I'm enjoying TD, I just have this sinking feeling that the supernatural stuff just isn't going to pay off in the end, that it won't be well connected to arc of the show. Sort of a Lost kind of feeling. Hope I'm wrong.
eta: Jody Foster's "Oh yeah, that would be super illegal." line after trying to get the vet to do some forensics made me laugh harder than many comedies these days.
Looking forward to Mr & Mrs Smith. I actually liked the movie, but all of my friends HATED it so it's long been in the "guilty pleasure" pile for me. Excited for the new take.
The family seemed to enjoy Percy Jackson. I haven't read the books but found the series entertaining. I saw an article on The Ringer that mentioned the same issues you did--they argued for making the main characters "dumber"--talking about the same problem with them figuring out the traps they'd walked into a little too quickly.
Was excited to hear about another season of Hijack. I agree that the best parts of season 1 took place on the plane, but was expecting the worst regarding the scenes on the ground and found them to be...fine. Which, let's face it, is a huge improvement from Kim Bauer running from a cougar.
To answer the question in the title, yes. But doesn't mean I won't watch the show, nor am I disappointed you wrote an honest review. And frankly, it's not that surprising Curb still isn't firing on all cylinders! (I also love the 30 Rock clip. It's my second favorite Angie Jordan quote outside of this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcYMGs-6Vqg)
I agree with your assessment of PJO. It felt choppy and rushed to us as well. Our heroes seemed to overcome every obstacle and solve every puzzle quickly and with much effort. The fights were lackluster. I didn’t feel the stakes or emotional payoffs were earned.
And it seemed like a lot of scene were shot on the volume, giving an artificial look to some of the grand settings.
Perhaps if it’s renewed, they’ll have a bigger budget for S2.
Yes, Lance Reddick is terrific. What a presence he has. We will miss him
I'm loving True Detective. I don't understand the pushback at all. Feels a bit sour grapes really and maybe because there's a woman running things - I don't like to think that that might be why Season 1 fanboys are up in arms but I have my suspicions. Mr & Mrs Smith might be my favourite show of the year. It feels so effortless. I'm actually pleased PWB dropped out because she tends to give the same performance and I'm not sure her and Donald Glover would have had the same incredible chemistry. I'm slightly annoyed at Prime Video for releasing it all because I'd love to have an episode to watch once a week. I'm aware I could ration it myself but hey. Thanks so much for the newsletter Alan, i always enjoy it.
Yes, definitely loving TD S4 so far, but it's also right up my alley with minor The Thing vibes and the cold and the dark and minor horror vibes and unexplained stuff. Love all of that! Really excited to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith when I get the chance. Donald Glover can do no wrong in my eyes. I also don't totally get the "Superman-meets-Spider-Man" aspect of PWB with Glover. I get that she did Fleabag which everyone loves, but has she done anything oh-so-amazing besides that one thing? Recently, she was fine/serviceable in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, but she didn't really elevate the material or anything.
I've always seen her as a better writer than performer. Fleabag worked because it was her story but I often don't buy her in other things and I can't imagine her here at all.
Even among her writing credits listed on IMDb, I thought Killing Eve was fine, but nothing especially great. No Time to Die felt like just another Bond film to me, nothing especially transcendent. I haven't seen Crashing or Drifters, so I can't comment on them. But I have yet to be blown away by her writing outside of Fleabag.
The first season of Killing Eve (the only one she was involved with) felt unlike anything else at the time. Really funny, exciting and unpredictable but I agree the others haven't really hit. Mr and Mrs Smith is brilliant though and I'm really glad DG and Maya have such incredible chemistry.
Yeah, that's fair. I will give her both Fleabag and S1 of Killing Eve haha. And I'm not writing her off in general, I'm excited to see what she creates next, but I guess Glover + PWB doesn't excite me to some far greater degree than Glover + Francesca Sloane creating with Erskine co-starring. Me too!
I'm liking True Detective as well. But I will say I think some of the pushback from people is that this one seems to be leaning into the supernatural way more than the previous season did, and by doing that it has set a completely different tone than people may have expected. I haven't watched season 1 in a while, but I remember there being some thoughts of supernatural to it, but nothing like this season where they are literally having nearly dead guys popping up to give a message from the afterlife. Anyways, I'm really enjoying it, but I can see someone really being put off from it, because it seems more like a horror show (feel like I'm getting Event Horizon vibes) than a detective show with elements of the supernatural.
I imagine it's probably one from Column A (two female leads on a show that had largely been a male-dominated space, where even Rachel McAdams was overshadowed by Farrell and Vaughn in the terrible second season), one from Column B (much more overtly supernatural). That said, I remember a LOT of anger directed at the season one finale from fanboys who had spent weeks theorizing about the Yellow King and such. That may have just been a vocal minority, but I think it's clear that Issa López was very into that aspect of the Cohle/Hart story, and decided to make it more prominent this time.
I guess I'm in the minority here - I wanted to love this show. HBO, 9 pm Sunday (prestige TV), "True Detective", Jodi Foster...but it's just not hitting for me. And that's okay. I'm not a fanboy (not a male), not a hater. I have some valid criticisms of the show (script, acting, etc). Many of us do. I hate that any criticism seems to get lumped into the "angry fanboy" category. Yes, I have seen those people, but they aren't the majority. I have seen a lot of thoughtful online discourse about some of the problems in the show.
I saw that the critical reviews for the show were outstanding - but it has disappointed me so far and not lived up to those reviews. In my opinion. I'm happy for those who are loving it. I will continue to watch because I am interested in the mystery and where it is going. I just wish it had been better done. I hope the second half of the show will resonate more with me.
I was thinking though...maybe this would work better on a binge? Not sure.
Gonna say this here and then again below: I'm not ascribing all of the dislike of Night Country to misogynist fanboys. If you don't like it, you don't like it! This is of course allowed. But a LOT of what I have encountered online has a very familiar and ugly tone to it, no matter how well some of these guys try to disguise it.
Adding to your thoughts about Percy Jackson not being renewed yet on Disney+, I think several streamers (Paramount+, Peacock, Max, & even Hulu to a degree) are having the same identity crisis with so few shows (new or returning/renewals) on the calendar. Obviously, the strikes have played a huge part in delay of shows, but decrease in quantity was planned prior to them.
I’m so glad to read your praise of Mr and Mrs smith bit looks like it could be my jam or could be corny and I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it so much
I wasn't planning on watching until I read Alan's review and I enjoyed the 1st episode. I'm looking forward to how the opening scene factors into the story. (BTW, kudos to Sarah for noting that the title cards did not have a period after "Mr and Mrs".)
The title cards do have periods though? At least the title card I'm looking at right now, haha
Weird. The one during the show? I'll look again. Thanks.
To be fair, I double-checked the image on Wikipedia to see if it had periods on there, but it should be accurate, it appears to be a title card from the show.
the ones during the show do not. I didn't notice that until Jeff pointed out my typo, but now I do notice.
Just to close this loop haha, you two are both right, the title card(s) during the show don't have periods. But I think the "official" name of the show still does? Still an interesting detail either way.
This is going to sound aggressive, but I mean it in good faith: I feel like I'm on a different planet from everyone who's enjoying Night Country, and I find it bewildering that any acknowledgement of differing opinions comes pre-loaded with the narrative that the only people who dislike it are implicitly racist and misogynistic 'fanboys.' Pizzolatto is a blowhard with a limited bag of tricks, but one thing he knew how to do was structure a mystery/detective story, which makes sense, considering that was his background before TD. Issa Lopez does not seem to have that same skill, to the point where I honestly feel bad for her -- HBO wanted to revive this IP and she got stuck with a high-profile job that is well outside her creative wheelhouse. Feels like she's being set up to take a lot of heat that really should be directed at cynical executives for attempting to cash in on an established brand.
Also, for what it's worth, I was through-the-roof psyched for this show because the idea of Jodie Foster solving occult crimes in Alaska sounds phenomenal to me. But her character is saddled with a bunch of underwritten relationships and boring subplots, to the point where I can't even enjoy Foster's performance. Wasting Jodie Foster on this level is, I'm sorry, unforgivable.
Repeating what I said elsewhere here: I'm not ascribing all of the dislike of Night Country to misogynist fanboys. If you don't like it, you don't like it! This is of course allowed. But a LOT of what I have encountered online has a very familiar and ugly tone to it, no matter how well some of these guys try to disguise it.
I am *loving* Night Country. Maybe it's that I take it as its own thing and don't care about connections/consistencies with the other seasons. (Fun to know, don't matter to me so long as this current story works.) Jodie Foster has taken a character that is entirely unlikable on paper and turned her into someone sympathetic and riveting. And I truly care who killed Annie. The show has a great sense of place, I'm intrigued by the supernatural elements, it's totally working for me.
But wow, I had forgotten about Pizzolatto's comments about it. Those look even worse now that the show is out and most people are enjoying it. For those who don't know, publicly knocking your peers' work like this is very frowned upon in the Hollywood writer community. It's incredibly poor form and is seen as a bit of a betrayal of the profession. It's nearly impossible to make anything, much less anything good; industry pros know this and generally extend grace in public comments, even if they hated the project in question. Pizzolatto's reputation has always been bad, but damn, dude. Just shut up and count your money.
Regarding the whole "binge drop" versus week-to-week decision, I seem to recall that Poker Face dropped several episodes at once at the beginning before going week-to-week just so they could meet the Emmy Awards deadline. That happened with a bunch of shows last year, and it was pretty annoying that an arbitrary mid-year deadline would drive such a thing. Yet another reason the Emmy's should just permanently move to January or February, and base the awards on the previous calendar year.
I agree that it's nearly always a bad idea to drop all episodes at once. When Netflix first pioneered this idea, it seemed like such a cool thing to be able to binge-watch a season all in one weekend. But I think we all know by now that this leads to either a "flash in the pan" effect, where everyone talks about the show for maybe a week and then move on to other things, or it keeps a new show from even getting off the ground, since there's such a brief window of chatter about it to build word of mouth. Week to week really does seem to almost always be the better decision, as it allows word of mouth to spread gradually, people can catch up mid-season and still feel like they're joining a cultural experience, and it allows recaps and forums and stuff to keep discussing the show between episodes and keeping it in the cultural conversation. These shows seem to have a staying power that others lack. The Brothers Sun on Netflix is a good example, where I think it would be more known and better-watched if there were weekly recaps and reviews, but instead it has sort of appeared and disappeared with little fanfare.
The whole thing reminds of how dumb it is for Netflix to give their movies a tiny theatrical release or none at all. It would only benefit them, by making money at the box office but also creating a cultural conversation and word of mouth that will then convince a bunch of people to sign up for the service so they can watch it at home. They're just leaving money and subscribers on the table, for what reason? Ideological opposition to non-streaming ways of watching their movies? It doesn't make any business sense, and I don't think the binge-drop TV thing makes business sense either.
The Emmys weren't a factor in Poker Face's release schedule. The first four episodes were released January 26, 2023, and then weekly through March 9th. The Emmy qualifying window was June 1, 2022 - May 31, 2023. The only reason the ceremony was in January 2024 was due to the strikes.
Ah, my bad. I think I was mixing it up with another show (maybe Mrs. Davis?) that released a few episodes at once before going weekly, just to fit the Emmy's deadline.
As far as the ceremony, I'm just saying it *should* be in January or February permanently. Just go by the calendar year, rather than the rapidly-disappearing "traditional" TV season schedule of Fall to Spring.
I’m totally into Night Country — just a bit miffed at finding out the image of the swirl came to Annie K in a dream, since it all but kills my theory that she got her tattoo after watching True Detective Season 1.
People are welcome to be mad that True Detective S4 is not only referencing season 1 but ret-conning some very minor elements of that story, people can be mad about whatever they like. But Nic Pizzolatto really did himself no favors. There was significant criticism of how all the "Carcosa" elements turned out to be red herrings just intended for atmosphere when that first season ended. The sour grapes are really embarrassing because he sounds like a guy who is mad he couldn't follow up his one hit season of TV with anything else successful.
Out of curiosity, what elements are being retconned? It’s been so long since I watched that first season that I honestly haven’t noticed anything like that, although I have spotted a few references.
I'm referencing what other folks did the leg work on but Travis is apparently Rust Cohle's father, who he mentioned in S1 and gave some background on. S4 is riffing on that but the overall timeline doesn't match up, that's a big one. Rust also told Marty he lived in Alaska for a lengthy period prior to the later timeline in S1, so that's also an element (implies Rust may have some connection to Ennis). The swirl seen in the tattoos is a direct reference to S1 as well and the Tuttle family behind all the evil ceremonies from S1 appears to be referenced with the Tuttle Corporation that is quietly funding Tsalal. So Rust's dad vs the timelines of both shows and Rust's time in Alaska are the main ones.
I feel like episode length has been a huge problem on Curb the last couple of seasons. Sometimes it’s good to stay in a 30 or 23 minute window.
One plus of this season is that most of the episodes, I think, are in that 30 minute range, albeit usually a few minutes over that. I didn't take notes on length, so I could be wrong, but I think there were only a couple that were around 40 minutes. Some of the episodes still feel long, but that's because none of the material in them is working, rather than because David and Schaffer didn't want to cut stuff.
Re: title: of course! But I can't say I'm not still excited to see some new Curb. I'm sure all of your criticisms of the new season are warranted/accurate, but, to me, it's basically just a show to "hang out" with Larry D at this point in time and get a few laughs. I'm not expecting stellar quality. I feel like my critical readings of Curb are pretty low at this point - it kind of is what it is at this point, for better or for worse.
Excited to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith! As I mentioned elsewhere, Donald Glover can't do anything wrong in my eyes, so I'm so glad you enjoyed it as well. I know you weren't as high on Swarm, but it was easily one of my top TV shows of 2023. I absolutely loved every aspect of it and Dre's creepy journey through America. Dominique Fishback was fantastic, as always. I haven't had a chance to sit down and watch any of Mr. & Mrs. Smith yet, but can't wait!
I was surprised to hear that Hijack is getting a 2nd season, given that the 1st season feels very self-contained and doesn't seem to need or even give the ability to create a 2nd season. But I suppose Idris can get stuck in a similar situation somewhere else and his son can get taken hostage again. I enjoyed Hijack S1 overall, so def don't mind getting more of that.
Sad that Dave is taking a hiatus or possibly even done. But I love Lil Dicky's music too, so I'm excited for whatever Mr. Burd wants to do next.
Count me as another heartily pro-True Detective S4 fan. I absolutely love the setting, the all-night feeling, the cold Alaska background, the scientists missing and the light The Thing vibes, Jodie Foster, all of it. Even if the supernatural parts don't pay off, this will definitely be my favorite season since the perfect season 1. And fuck Pizzolatto for being a dick about it, even though that's not surprising at all, of course.
While I'm enjoying TD, I just have this sinking feeling that the supernatural stuff just isn't going to pay off in the end, that it won't be well connected to arc of the show. Sort of a Lost kind of feeling. Hope I'm wrong.
eta: Jody Foster's "Oh yeah, that would be super illegal." line after trying to get the vet to do some forensics made me laugh harder than many comedies these days.
Very excited to watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith! Alan, can I ask if you are going to review Capote vs. the Swans?
Very excited to watch Mr. and Mrs. Smith! Alan, can I ask if you are going to review Capote vs. the Swans?
I'm not. I watched half an episode and moved on. Not my jam at all, I'm afraid.
Looking forward to Mr & Mrs Smith. I actually liked the movie, but all of my friends HATED it so it's long been in the "guilty pleasure" pile for me. Excited for the new take.
The family seemed to enjoy Percy Jackson. I haven't read the books but found the series entertaining. I saw an article on The Ringer that mentioned the same issues you did--they argued for making the main characters "dumber"--talking about the same problem with them figuring out the traps they'd walked into a little too quickly.
https://www.theringer.com/tv/2024/2/1/24058037/percy-jackson-and-the-olympians-disney-adaptation-season-1-finale
Was excited to hear about another season of Hijack. I agree that the best parts of season 1 took place on the plane, but was expecting the worst regarding the scenes on the ground and found them to be...fine. Which, let's face it, is a huge improvement from Kim Bauer running from a cougar.
To answer the question in the title, yes. But doesn't mean I won't watch the show, nor am I disappointed you wrote an honest review. And frankly, it's not that surprising Curb still isn't firing on all cylinders! (I also love the 30 Rock clip. It's my second favorite Angie Jordan quote outside of this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcYMGs-6Vqg)
I agree with your assessment of PJO. It felt choppy and rushed to us as well. Our heroes seemed to overcome every obstacle and solve every puzzle quickly and with much effort. The fights were lackluster. I didn’t feel the stakes or emotional payoffs were earned.
And it seemed like a lot of scene were shot on the volume, giving an artificial look to some of the grand settings.
Perhaps if it’s renewed, they’ll have a bigger budget for S2.
Yes, Lance Reddick is terrific. What a presence he has. We will miss him