April 2020 – TV Quick Hits & Misses

Briarpatch (USA) – Feeling a bit like an Elmore Leonard novel with a Quinten Tarantino soundtrack, this pulpy crime story is a moderately fun watch with enough twists and turns to keep an audience mostly interested.

Based on the novel by Ross Thomas, the series is set in the small town of San Bonifacio, Texas, the former home of one Allegra Dill (Rosario Dawson), who ran out some 10+ years before hoping never to return. When her sister, a current town deputy, is murdered, Allegra feels compelled to revisit her former home to investigate. What follows is a limited series that sees a broad expanse of eccentric characters embroiled in all kinds of nefarious behavior.

I was originally drawn to the series because it’s a work tied to Executive Producer Sam Esmail, the creator of “Mr. Robot”. “Briarpatch” is nothing like that show, but it’s character driven pulp winds up being enough to keep you tuned in to see it through to its resolution.

With a cast that includes, Jay R. Ferguson, Edi Gathegi, Brian Geraghty, Kim Dickens, Timm Sharp, Susan Park, and Alan Cumming, I can’t promise you’ll love it, but I expect you’ll get enough out of it to warrant the watch.

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness (NETFLIX) – This culture shock of a documentary series details the life, times, and grudges of a small Oklahoma zoo owner. Said zoo owner, Joe Exotic, is a relatively unflamboyant, (dude, he’s mulleted), drug addled, gun-toting, polygamist queen with a dangerously self-centered hunger for the spotlight. His story is told through a myriad of lenses that include himself, his peers, his enemies and employees, as well as the local and federal governments. This is a completely outlandish tale that has to be seen to be believed and, Holy Smokes, it’s so much guilty fun.

The series is produced amazingly, so calling it a train wreck is a bit unfair, but if you’re one with a penchant for gluttony...well then, carry on, Yo! Because the story, characters, and hooks are out of this world. I mean, it’s a real shitshow for sure, but the final episode goes a long way to brining the chaos back to some sense of reality. That may be a bit of a bummer after six episodes of entreatingly outlandish antics, but the fact is that these are real people, in real circumstances who, at one time, used to care about the lives and welfare of large animals.

Note: Originally set as a seven-episode limited series, an eighth interview/recap episode with Joel McHale was added after the meteoric success of the show.

Castlevania: Season 3 (NETFLIX) – Slow overall, the season attempts a truly bizarre but effective pick-me-up at the mid-season point. Seemingly not interested in sustaining that level of excitement the show dips again before careening into some shockingly adult territory during the ninth episode. The overall season is fine, though disparate and not completely sensical. There are story arcs in play, but half of them feel like series long one-off adventures for the characters. I expect this season to have greater impact later, but at this time, it’s kind of, “Okay, well that was something”.

Note: That ninth episode I mentioned above impressively incorporates minimal dialogue and spacious wide shots into its equally overabundant displays of sex and violence; it’s probably best if you don’t watch this one with the kiddies.

Better Things: Season 4 (FX) – Another superb season, dealing with the continued growing up of its central characters. The series continues to do so much by doing so little and excels at the emotional highs/lows of daily and long-term life. The language is a bit coarser than previous seasons, but it feels warranted as so much of the emotional content hits home.

-m-