February 2020 – TV Quick Hits & Misses

The Witcher (NETFLIX) – Set in a fantasy world with clearly undefined character and story borders, “The Witcher” is a constant and interesting surprise to watch. Tough to make sense out of initially, but the series is fully worth the confusion.

Henry Cavill (“Man of Steel”, “Mission: Impossible – Fallout”) and Anya Chalotra (“Wanderlust”) loosely lead the series which explores magic, destiny, bigotry, and beasties (of all shapes and sizes) in a fantasy world landscape. In brief, the series sets up a disparate group of characters who, over the course of an eight-episode season, are being drawn together.

Simple enough in theory, yes, but the series delivery is incredibly unique which makes the unfolding story feel wildly out of context. Don’t fret too much though, just understand that half of the fun, and surprise, of the series is trying to fit the jigsaw-ing stories together. If you’re not a patient viewer, then “The Witcher” may be too frustrating for you, but if instead you can sit back and let the story unfold, all things will be revealed.

To help make that easier, allow me to tell you that series hops around so much that remembering names of people and places is almost not worth the effort. Thankfully, the characters themselves are impressionable enough that even nameless recognition is assured; i.e. Joey Batey plays Jaskier, the Bard. While his name is easily lost in the cacophony of dialogue, his character is impossible to forget.

American Horror Story: 1984 (FX) – “1984” delivers a grab bag of ideas, tropes, and plot devices from the genre’s “heyday”. Nostalgically I’d think, that’s bitchin’, but in typical “American Horror Story” fashion, the creators see their ideas all wedged into an 10-episode season that feels shocking egotistical and ridiculously overstuffed; almost like they’re trying to club the audience over the head with a cornucopia of retro knowledge and throwbacks.

I’m really not sure about this show anymore; I’m certainly not a fan of its attitude. I’m often excited by the early teasers and limited exposure to the season’s thematic idea, and then usually underwhelmed with the overstuffed content rollout. Admittedly, I dig the 80s-era vibe of “American Horror Story: 1984” but the show itself feels aggressively self-important and apathetically self-aware as it brashly shoves a truckload of content down the throats of viewers.

This show is not scary, and hasn’t been, in my opinion, since “Roanoke”. Truth be told, it hasn't been truly frightening for seasons prior to that one, but it does continue to be decidedly graphic and all up in your face with its business. So if that’s your thing…

Note: This season’s intro is almost perfect. The audio/visual throwback style is great, but it’s music ultimately leans just a bit too much to the shrilling dark side for my taste.

-m-