September 2019 – TV Quick Hits & Misses

Bodyguard (NETFLIX / BBC ONE) – Local London terrorism is on the rise. The Home Secretary, Julia Montague, is pushing for new sanctions that may inhibit citizen’s civil rights. Her thoughts and actions appear as a direct challenge to not only organized terrorism, but to the Prime Minister and local citizenry as well, effectively making herself a rather large target on both sides of the issue. Enter Police Sargent David Budd, Richard Madden (“Game of Thrones”) in his Golden Globe winning performance, a former soldier with PTSD, and now the new Personal Protection Officer, or Bodyguard, of the Home Secretary.

Running a brief but intriguingly tense six episodes, the excellently plotted “Bodyguard” does a thrilling job of keeping the audience guessing as to who’s the Power and who’s the Pawn in this game.

The unique intro sees the “Previously On…” intermixed w/ the open credit title cards.

Note: Pay the show a bit more attention early on as the series uses a bit of local police shorthand, that when coupled with the accents, may see the information blow by you pretty quickly.

Quote of Note:

1. “That’s it. P*ss off.”

Comedy Central Presents: The Roast of Alec Baldwin (Comedy Central) – This was hilarious and easily comes across as one of the better roasts in recent memory. Largely because it keeps its comedic hands to itself; and with this group there’s no need to go off topic for material. And while doing so, the writers and roasters make a strong point of openly respecting each other, admonishing social justice warriors, and acknowledging how Comedy, not only at the Roast but in general, is its own Safe Space. One within which these roasters each make a public declaration of love for the flagrantly flawed and redemptive Baldwin himself. Absolutely fantastic stuff, Yo!

Including the laugh-out loud, tear inducing comedic stylings of Sean Hayes, Robert De Niro, Nikki Glaser, Ken Jeong, Caroline Rhea, Adam Corolla, Chris Redd, Robert Smigel, NBA Star – Blake Griffin, Caitlyn Jenner, Ireland Baldwin, and Jeff Ross.

The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (NETFLIX) – This dark fantasy is a wonderfully patient prequel series to Jim Henson’s 1982 film. Originally pitched to Netflix as an animated series, it was Cindy Holland, VP of Original Content at Netflix, who actually nixed that idea in favor of this live action telling. The resulting series, developed by Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews, in part from Young Adult series material by author J.M. Lee, sees a physically astonishing and inspiring expansion of the world, history, and characters of the Dark Crystal.

Thankfully this expansion is helmed, in its entirety, by director Louis Leterrier (2008’s “The Incredible Hulk”, “Now You See Me”), ensuring a singular vision throughout the episodic journey. And while the series’ writing, cinematography, and puppetry are all impressive, its art direction is completely off the charts. This, thankfully also, is due to the return of the original film’s conceptual artist and world creator, Brian Froud.

Brian, along with his sculptor/puppet builder wife, Wendy (the two met on the set of the original film), and their design supervisor son, Toby (the baby from “Labyrinth”), have together realized an incredible design and harmony of the broadened landscapes and characters of the Dark Crystal world. The Frouds, along with every other person behind and in front of the camera, have done this to such a staggering degree, that when combined with a story that shares equitable breadth, depth, and characterization “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”, if you’re a fan of the original film, becomes impossible to dislike.

This is however a much darker and involved fantasy than many uninitiated viewers might be expecting. If you’re new to the material, then I would strongly suggest giving the original film a view first. I suggest this for two reasons:

1. To see if you even like the material. Especially since you’re about to invest almost 9 hours into a whole new world of completely alien content. The material delivered in the series is not generic and can sometimes be difficult to follow. Having a firm base from which to begin the series will benefit you immensely.

1. To familiarize yourself with the world and its characters. This is an almost completely alien environment, with a large cast of characters, and the series doesn’t go out of its way to help you navigate its increased breadth and depth. So, ensuring that you can tolerate the look and feel of the characters, grasp their general archetypes, and understand the basics of The Dark Crystal’s world is certainly worth the 94-minute investment.

The series includes the all-star casting talents of:  Taron Egerton, Nathalie Emmanuel (“Game of Thrones”), Anya Taylor-Joy (“Split”), Jason Isaacs (“The Patriot”), Helena Smee, Donna Kimball, Simon Pegg, Benedict Wong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keegan-Michale Key, Mark Hamill, Caitriona Balfe (“Outlander”), Harris Dickinson, Harvey Fierstein, Ralph Ineson, Awkwafina, Lena Headey, Olafur Darri Olafsson (“NOS4A2”), Toby Jones, Shazad Latif, Hannah John-Kamen, Mark Strong (“Sherlock Holmes”), Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Helena Bonham Carter, Eddie Izzard, Dave Goelz, Natalie Dormer, Theo James, Theo Ogundipe, Nimmy March, Nina Sosanya, Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Sigourney Weaver, Alicia Vikander, and George Walker Glover.

Note: NETFLIX also has an insightful making of documentary entitled, “The Crystal Calls Making the Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance” which explores the (re)creation of the iconic brand.

I Am Patrick Swayze (Paramount Network) – A small but effective biography of the famed actor that sees a compilation of archival interviews from his mother, Patsy, and Patrick himself; as well as new interviews from colleagues who worked with him both in front of and behind the camera. The biography is a poignant and effective reminder of a celebrity, and man, that the world lost way too soon.

The biography includes notable and insightful interviews with Lisa Niemi (his Wife), Don Swayze (his Brother), Rob Lowe and C.Thomas Howell (“The Outsiders”), Jennifer Grey (“Dirty Dancing”), Sam Elliott, Kelly Lynch, and Marshall Teague (“Roadhouse”), Demi Moore (“Ghost”), Lori Petty (“Point Break”), Director Roland Joffe (“City of Joy”), Rosemary Hygate (his personal assistant), Nicole David (his agent), and Kate Edwards (his manager).

The I-Land (NETFLIX) – 10 people awaken on the beach of a deserted island with no memory of who they individually are or how they got there. Clues have apparently been left behind but it’s unclear if this group will ever find the answers they seek as their initial meeting quickly turns to confrontation and things only get worse from there.

Despite using a repetitive “climbing up and over the treetops/buildings” camera trick as both establishing shots and transitions, it’s actually a decent show; not too deep, not too cliché, and not too set up for a second season.

Note: The first episode of the show makes an almost immediate reference to the “Lost” series finale.

Nightflyers (SYFY / DVD) – Based on a novella by George R.R. Martin (author of, “A Song of Ice and Fire” series) the show, set in 2093, sees the earth ravaged by disease, and a small group of scientists manning a colony ship, The Nightflyer, are enroute to meet an alien species who’ve harnessed a new, and possibly helpful, source of energy. In order to ensure communication with the alien race a dangerous telepath has been brought on board to accompany the mission, but he’s not the only threat onboard. Space Madness, ensues!

Going lite on the science and delivering a less than fluid roll out of fiction keep this genre piece from ever getting above half-mast. And while some of its ideas are interesting, their unfolding is absolutely horrendous, and so chock full of absurdities and convenient plot devices that I actually got mad when explaining the series’ details to someone. Space Madness, indeed.

The Sinner: Season 2 (USA / NETFLIX) – A Pennsylvania family traveling through upstate New York on their way to vacation at Niagara Falls fall prey to a nefarious act that sees two of them dead, the remaining family member is the only suspect. Enter Detective Ambrose (Bill Pulman), “The Sinner” series connecting tissue, to help solve the case. Things really start to twist up with a great first episode ending.

“The Sinner” series, following an anthological season premise, keep things as interesting as the first go round by delivering another compelling and multilayered case to work through. And although the show itself is a bit terrestrial in delivery the twists and turns keep things repeatedly interesting and thoroughly watchable.

Concerning the Ambrose character, the show thankfully ditches the */* subplot of the first season in favor of some childhood familial history that proves fundamental to this season’s case.

Note: There’s a continuity error concerning a DOB (date of birth) stated and then pictured with a four-year difference on an identification sheet.

Snowfall: Season 3 (FX) – Season 3 sees the stakes elevated yet again, as Franklin and company look to leave the small time behind and move into the whole sale market. The season sticks to its more tightly woven three main story threads as it looks to inflict pain and suffering from the explosively rising conflict on every member of the cast. Ensuring that the audience feels every bit of the loss these characters experience. It’s arguably frightening too as the very realistic downsides of their chosen professions begin to surface and claim their share of the profits.

-m-