Title: Fleabag Release Dates: 2019 Season: 1 Number of Episodes: 6 Summary/Review:
The second season of Fleabag is even better than the first. These tightly scripted and plotted episodes tell a story of human fraility and resilience that is full of laughs and heartbreaks. The series begins a year after the first series and Fleabag has been ostracized by her family in the interim due to her actions in the first series. But the show begins with the family reunited for Dad and Godmother’s engagement dinner. Claire is still with Martin, but commuting regularly to Finland for her new job there. A sixth guest at the table is the priest who will preside over the wedding. Christened on social media as “Hot Priest” and portrayd by the excellent Andrew Scott, he has a lot of similarity to Fleabag, including the tendency to say inappropriate things out loud and drinking too much, but the good qualities as well. The main focus of the series is the friendship and the illicit romance between that grows between Flebag and Hot Priest. But the show also delves further into Fleabag’s trauma over the deaths of her mother and her best friend, Boo, as well as her efforts to repair the relationship with her surviving family. It’s an excellent, bawdy comedy that somehow also delves right into the heart of humanity and relationships.
Title: Fleabag Release Dates: 2016 Season: 1 Number of Episodes: 6 Summary/Review:
Fleabag is a British comedy series created and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. In the show, Waller-Bridge portrays a 30-year-old woman in London who is sarcastic, has several strained relationships, and engages in lots of recreational sex. At first I thought this was going to be one of those “a person in their 20s sleeping around and having a wacky life, isn’t it so relatable” types of shows that I never find relatable. Thankfully, it is not like that at all.
Waller-Bridge’s character has sexual relationships with three different men over the course of the series, but they are negligible compared with her relationships with her family and friends which are the focus of the show. Her mother died three years earlier and her father (Bill Paterson) has been distant ever since, but does things like send her and her sister Claire (Sian Clifford) to feminist lectures and silent retreats. Things with her older sister are also not so good as Claire is much more serious and is married to her absolutely awful husband Martin (Brett Gelman). Her father is also romantically involved with their Godmother (Olivia Colman), far too soon after their mother’s death. Colman is an actor I always enjoy, but her portrayal of the absolute worst kind of pretentious, manipulative, and passive aggressive person is so good that I want to hate her. Finally, Waller-Bridge’s character feels grief and guilt over the recent death of her best friend and business partner Boo (Jenny Rainsford, who appears in flashbacks) who was hit by a car.
All the actors in this show are absolutely spectacular. Over the course of the series, their stories are woven into wacky adventures, and somewhere along the way, we the audience find ourselves caring deeply for these people even if they can be kind of awful. One of the features of the show is Phoebe Waller-Bridge frequently breaking the fourth wall to bring us into the situation with a wisecrack or look. This mannerism could be irritating in other hands but Waller-Bridge never fails to be funny, and she has the most expressive face. And after all the laughter, don’t be surprised if you find yourself crying at the end of the series because it’ll hit you in the feels.
By the way, it wasn’t until after I watched the entire series that I discovered that “Fleabag” is the name given to the main character! She’s never referred that way on screen, perhaps its meant to represent the way she thinks of herself at her most self-loathing.
Title: Tuca & Bertie Release Dates: 2019 Season: 1 Number of Episodes: 10 Summary/Review:
This new animated comedy from Netflix has a lot in common with one of my favorite shows, BoJack Horseman. For one thing, Tuca & Bertie‘s creator, Lisa Hanawalt, served as production designer and producer for BoJack Horseman. For another, Tuca & Bertie are anthropomorphized birds living in a city of anthropomorphized animals and even anthropomorphized plants (they’re so cool!).
Nevertheless, Tuca & Bertie isn’t a spinoff of Bojack, nor is it even the same universe. Tuca & Bertie has a brighter color pallette and, for lack of a better word, a “bouncier” animation style that frequently veers into surreality. That is an even more surreal than a world with talking bird people. Also, BoJack is a show that keeps returning to the inevability of misery and that other people will disappoint you. Tuca & Bertie is more positive and shares its belief that one can count on the people you love to get you through troubled times.
Despite it’s wacky humor, Tuca & Bertiereveals more serious undertones over the course of the season. Tuca is an outgoing toucan and free spirit who has no filter between her brain and mouth. It’s established early in the season that she’s alcoholic and six months into living sober, and confronting supressed anxieties for the first time. Bertie is a songbird with more open anxiety issues and people pleaser. She struggles at work with men speaking over her and sexual harrassment. Yet we see her assert herself to get a new position as senior operations analyst at her publishing firm and explore a second career as a baker. The two characters are rightly depicted as a yin-yang late in the season because they complement each other so well.
This is a bright and heartwarming show, and just delightfully weird. I especially like the music – both the electronic dance background music and the fact that characters narrate their life in song. If you decide to watch it and it doesn’t work for you at first, give it a few episodes to sink in.
Title: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Release Dates: 2019 Season: 4, part 2 Number of Episodes: 6 Summary/Review:
The final six episodes of the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt are technically part of the 4th season, but tonaly are different from the six episodes released last summer. I was disappointed by the mediocrity of the first half of season 4, but the final 6 are something of a return to form. Perhaps it’s not as strong as the series was in its first three season, but they’ve avoided the unfunny mean-spiritedness that marred last summer’s episodes. A highlight of the season is an episode that parodies the movie Sliding Doors and shows all the characters’ alternate lives in a way that’s funny and actual develops the characters too. All in all, this is a satisfactory farewell to a great tv show that may have overstayed its welcome.
Title: A Series of Unfortunate Events Release Dates: 2019 Season: 3 Number of Episodes: 7 Summary/Review:
The third season of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events adapts the final four books in the series. With the final book, The End, told in in one episode, it also the shortest of the three series at only 7 episodes. This season takes some strange tonal shifts from the earlier season, but that is also true to the books which became darker, sadder, and well … stranger than the earlier books. The Baudelaires find themselves trapped in an increasingly Kafka-esque world, and the quest for the sugar bowl seems to take precedence over their desire to just escape Olaf and get on with their lives. And then The End reveals that an entirely different story is being told about the loss of childhood innocence, mortality, and the impossibility of trying to escape to a quiet, safe place.
It’s been a dozen or more years since I read the books and I found myself constantly uncertain if the show was changing things from the books or if just forgot major details. I believe the direct involvement of Lemony Snicket in the Baudelaire’s story and the flashback to the opera are major enhancements of the books. And Kit revealing what the sugar bowl contains, rather than leaving it a mystery, is a somewhat unsatisfactory twist for something that was essentially a MacGuffin. But it’s most likely that the show is largely faithful to the books and I just plum forgot the details so I got to be surprised by them all over again. Either way, it’s time to reread the book.
As always, the acting is top notch, the gags are funny, and the set designs and costumes are eye-catching! This is a show that should be watched and enjoyed.
Title: Derry Girls Release Date: 2018 Creator and Writer: Lisa McGee Director: Michael Lennox Production Company: Hat Trick Productions Summary/Review:
I visited Derry, Northern Ireland in the 1990s and this nostalgic comedy seems to fit my memories of the city. Derry is known internationally for being at the heart of The Troubles – the ongoing sectarian fighting, riots, and terrorist bombings in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s to the late 1990s. But I also remember Derry being something of a party town. Derry Girls captures the everyday life of the city’s citizens amid bomb threats that cause traffic delays, soldiers inspecting a school bus, and a family taking a holiday to avoid the Orange Orders’ “marching season.”
The core group of teenagers in this show are Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson), her live-in cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), Erin’s friends Clare (Nicola Coughlan) and Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell), and Michelle’s English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn), who is the only boy at their all-girl Catholic school because it’s feared that his English accent would make him a target for violence at the boys’ school. The quintet get themselves in all manner of trouble at school with the misanthropic Sister Michael (Siobhan McSweeney). Erin’s family also play a big role and they’re all generally awful in amusing ways.
The show is kind of an odd cross of “The Facts of Life” with the movie Heaven Help Us and and “Father Ted,” with some sectarian violence thrown in. But really, despite the unique setting, the show is strangely relatable.
Title: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Release Dates: 2018 Season: 1 Number of Episodes: 1 Summary/Review:
Before watching this ostensible gritty reboot of the 1990s sitcom Sabrina, The Teenage Witch, I learned a few things I didn’t know. First, Sabrina originated decades earlier as a comic book character. Second, Sabrina lives in the same universe as the Archie comics! Third, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina originated a few years back as a comic book. So essentially this a television adaptation of a gritty reboot of a comic book. It’s a good concept though as it naturally follows that if you’re going to tell a story about a teenage witch that you should follow through on the full meaning of witchcraft and Satanic worship.
Let it be known that this is NOT for kids (well, young ones, teenagers will probably love it). Granted, much of the horror is jump scares and creepy creatures, but there’s also a horrific scene of ritual cannibalism and a lot of violence. Much of the show is highly stylized, with it being hard to tell what decade this is supposed to be happening in. Apart from actual witches living among the mortals, the town of Greendale just feels a strange place, not like a real American town, but an amalgam of television towns.
I don’t think I would like the show’s writing or stories all that much if it wasn’t for the excellent cast who carry the show. Lucy Davis plays Sabrina’s goofy and more lenient Aunt Hilda while Miranda Otto regally portrays her more elegant and stern Aunt Zelda. Chance Perdomo is effortlessly cool as Sabrina’s cousin Ambrose who is living under house arrest and casually helps Sabrina with her misguided plots. Michelle Gomez follows up her genius Doctor Who role as Missy by playing Sabrina’s teacher Ms. Wardwell, who offers guidance to Sabrina while secretly guiding her into a sinister plot. Sabrina’s best mortal friends are Roz (Jaz Sinclair) a young activist at her high school and Susie (Lachlan Watson) who is bullied by jocks and experiencing gender dysphoria. Roz and Susie both give a Sabrina a realistic strong tie to the human world while also helping tie together the supernatural events with the social issues they symbolize.
A couple of things stand out as problems with the show. One is the performance of Kiernan Shipka as the lead character. She always seems to respond to everything with a deadpan expression and very little real emotion, even if a tear is rolling down her cheek. I don’t want to say she’s a bad actor but it strikes me as a curious decision to have her play the character that way. The other thing is that Sabrina’s knowledge of witch history and spell casting seems to vary on what is convenient to the plot. She pull of amazing spells in one scene and express basic ignorance about things in the witching world the next.
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is good but not great tv but definitely some cotton candy fun worth a binge. I expect I’ll be back for more
Title: Broadchurch Release Dates: 2016 Season: 3 Number of Episodes: 8 Summary/Review:
I recently watched the third and final series of the the British program Broadchurch. I watched the first two series a few years ago back before I started writing reviews of tv series so I’ll sum up my thoughts on them first. Series 1 focuses on the murder of an 11-year boy in a small, coastal town of England and the effect that the murder and mystery has on that town. It’s visually striking, well-acted, and takes the time to explore the feelings of grief, anger, and suspicion among the characters. The second series focuses on the trial of the murderer intercut with the investigation of an unrelated cold case. This series veered into being too silly and contrived and paled in comparison to the first series.
I really enjoy the work of the actors Olivia Colman and David Tennant as the detectives Ellie Miller and Alec Hardy. They play ordinary, rumpled people with complicated lives, not at all the typical glamorous television detective. I love the interplay between them and how amidst the bickering they develop mutual respect and friendship. The rest of the cast are made up of talented British actors, and a large number of them have been involved in Doctor Who (as has the creator and writer of Broadchurch, Chris Chibnall, who is now the showrunner for Doctor Who).
The third series takes place a few years after series 2, with the focus set on the rape of a middle-aged woman named Trish (Julie Hesmondhalgh). The explores her personal trauma as well as effect the crime has on Trish’s family, friends, and the townspeople in general. The first episode is a very stark portrait of Trish being taken into the rape crisis response system. Beth Latimer (Jodie Whittaker) – the mother of the murdered Danny from the first two series – returns, now working as a Sexual Assault Response Association counselor assigned to work with Trish.
While Beth works to channel her grief into helping crime victims, her estranged husband Mark (Andrew Buchan) can’t let go of Danny’s murder and becomes increasingly unstable. Meanwhile, the men in Trish’s life, even those she’s tangentially associated with her all seem to have secrets and lies, and histories of bad behavior. Ellie and Alec soon have a long list of suspects as they find toxic masculinity and rape culture at every corner of this small town. The whole series is best summed up by Alec when he says “What’s bothering me about this case is that it’s making me ashamed to be a man.” Even when the actual rapist is identified, you’re left feeling concerned that there are so many scuzzy men walking free in this town.
Series 3 is a definite improvement over Series 2, although it falls a bit short of Series 1. It’s good in how it takes the time to respectfully and realistically depict a rape case. The show feels even more bleak this series, not that you’d consider a show about a murdered child to have much humor, but it did have more light moments than this series. On the downside I think the mystery part got a little too contrived with a half-dozen suspects all having done something nasty and creepy related to Trish. It’s weird too that everyone seems to know one another and get together for soccer games or flashlight marches, but don’t seem to know one another at other times. Overall though, this is a well-acted – if harrowing – procedural drama.
The most stunning segment of this episode on poison regards “The Radium Girls” of Ottawa, Illinois, who were poisoned painting clock dials with radium. It’s another example of cruelty of capitalist greed, misogyny, and indifference to human suffering.
What if a city was born by just having 100,000 people show up at once and claim their spot? That’s the weird story of Oklahoma City. Listen to this just for the “Oh, Joe – here’s your mule!” part.
Title: Class Release Dates: 2016 Season: 1 Number of Episodes: 8 Summary/Review:
This spinoff series from Doctor Who was designed as a young adult science fiction drama with the scripts being written by popular young adult author Patrick Ness. It’s curious that in many ways Class is darker and more mature (and more gory) than Doctor Who, although teens actually do like that kind of thing, tv productions don’t generally recognize it. The premise of a team of people fighting off the monster-of-the-week that emerges from a rift in space and time is very much reminiscent of the very grown-up Torchwood.
The show is set at the Coal Hill School, a frequent setting of Doctor Who going back to the first episode in 1963. Because of the Doctor’s frequent visits to Coal Hill with the TARDIS time and space have become unstable creating the rift. The Doctor has also placed two alien refugees at the school, disguised as human for their protection: Charlie, the prince of the Rhodians, and Ms. Quill, a revolutionary from the same planet who is tied to Charlie by a mental link that forces her to act his protector. They are each the only survivors of their species after genocide by the Shadow Kin.
The rest of the kids are ordinary, highly-intelligent students with the typical problems of teenagers. Ram is talented football player who grieves the loss of his girlfriend to the Shadow Kin. April is nerdy and well-behaved, but hides a troubled past with her father. Tanya is the youngest in the group having moved up three years at the school and comes from a Nigerian immigrant family. Matteusz is a Polish immigrant who is ostracized by his parents for being gay, and has a romance with Charlie.
The cast are all really charming and the show does a great job at developing their characters, albeit sometimes unevenly to serve the plot. The scripts are especially good at exploring grief and young people learning to trust and work with one another. Ms. Quill is a scene stealing anti-hero, revolutionary become physics teacher. The Shadow Kin are the main villain in this series and the four episodes they appear in are strained by the Shadow Kin being rather ridiculous and uninteresting.
The best two episodes come near the end of the series. Episode 6 – “Detained” – is a bottle episode where the five students are shoved out of normal space-time and encounter a creature that makes them confess uncomfortable truths. It’s good drama and also symbolic of young people learning to communicate with one another honestly. The next episode – “The Metaphysical Engine, or What Quill Did” – features Ms. Quill on adventure using a TARDIS-like device to travel into metaphysical realities in search of regaining her free will. It’s a very imaginative and really lets Katherine Kelly to expand her character and acting chops.
Unfortunately, Class was canceled after one season, which is possibly a good thing because the cliffhanger hints at a premise that I don’t think would’ve worked well. If the showrunners had known that they had only one season I think that they could’ve have reshaped these 8 episodes into a more self-contained miniseries. But now we’ll just have to use our imaginations – and Big Finish audio dramas – to find out to find out what happens next.
