September 2020 – TV Quick Hits & Misses

Amazing Stories (Apple TV+) –This reboot of Steven Spielberg’s beloved 1980s anthology series delivers five 50-minute episodes telling varied “amazing” stories concerning time travel, the afterlife, familial superheroes, and a reawakening coma patient. The episodes themselves, while not particularly ground-breaking or iconic-ly memorable, are enjoyable enough to keep audiences tuned in. And, John Williams’ iconic score returns over a new title sequence that highlights moments from the season’s episodes, along with a brief homage to Spielberg’s “A.I”.

Note: “Dynoman and the Volt” constitutes Robert Forester’s final onscreen performance.

Quotes of Note:

1. “I have been every kind of invisible, alive and dead.”

Dickinson (Apple TV+) – From series creator Alena Smith (“The Newsroom”, “The Affair”) comes this cleverly modern and entertaining take on the young life of famed poet, Emily Dickinson.

Far from a downer, this short and sweet-ish series is bursting with warmth, humor, and charm as the young Miss Dickinson struggles with her own ideas of life, as well as her literary dreams, against the backdrop of a more stern and restricting era. The series uses modernity as a breath of fresh air in its stifling historical setting, including present-day slang and lines of Emily’s poetry displayed, and spoken, over some impressively moody contemporary scoring.

The series highlights a few brief moments of dourness, but Emily’s life, series-wise, is far too bright and hopeful to succumb to the darkening shadows she finds herself surrounded by. So, while the overall series is a little lite on its emotional depth it’s still wonderfully clever, endearingly funny, easy to identify with, and overwhelming enjoyable.

The supporting cast includes Toby Huss (“Halt and Catch Fire”), Jane Krakowski (“Ally McBeal”), Gus Birney (“The Mist”, “Insatiable”), and comedian John Mulaney (“Big Mouth”).

Note: As of this writing, the series has been renewed for a full three seasons.

Note 2: David Gordon Green (“Eastbound & Down” and 2019’s “Halloween”) directs the first two episodes.

Quotes of Note:

1. “Publicity is not the same thing as immortality.”
2. “I never found a companion that was as companionable as solitude.”
3. “It’s not a good time for me to get into a relationship. I need to focus on my cat.”
4. “Parties are like shipwrecks. You should emerge from them soaking wet, out of breath, and helplessly disoriented.”

Fear City: New York vs The Mafia (NETFLIX) – New York in the 1970s and 80s saw five mafia families: Gambino, Colombo, Lucchese, Genovese, and Bonanno (collective known as, “The Commission”), ruling the city and frustrating the local government with a seemingly impenetrable amount of corruption.

Rather than glorifying the mob families and their tactics, this 3-episode limited series is a bit more of a “How-To” doco on taking down a mob family through the use of the RICO Act. Utilizing actual footage, reenactments, and current-day interviews to turn it’s interesting and more hopeful tale into a decent watch.

Interviews include a host of mob guys, law enforcement agents, lawyers and lawmakers (G. Robert Blakey and Rudy Giuliani), and even Curtis Sliwa the founder of the Guardian Angels.

Quote of Note:

1. “You know, when you borrowed money from them, if you didn’t pay on time, they’d bend your leg and stuff it in your pocket.”

Hoops (NETFLIX) – A vulgar and thoroughly trashy animated sitcom concerning a horribly foul-mouthed and dirty-minded loser of a high school basketball coach in Kentucky. Think, “Big Mouth” meets “Eastbound & Down” but without the heart or cool confidence. Yes, it’s funny at times, but “Hoops” never comes across as clever, instead it excels at being mean and ultimately pointless.

Note: The series, created by comedian Ben Hoffman, includes a theme song by his country-superstar alter ego, Wheeler Walker Jr. There’s no doubt that the song is new-country catchy, but again, in a mean-spirited way.

Quotes of Note:

1. “…but unfortunately, I got my mom’s dick.”
2. “You couldn’t pay me enough to date Billy-Bob Thyroid.”
3. “This is the lowest I’ve been since that time nobody tried to butt-fuck me in prison a couple hours ago.”

The Imagineering Story (Disney+) – A little slow but profoundly informative, this six-episode documentary series begins by taking you into the mind of Walt Disney as he conceives and brings to life his first two theme parks. The series deepens and then expands this exploration through the vision and talents of the Imagineers, the hand-picked artistic craftsmen and innovative creators, who, over the decades that followed, would mold Disney’s dreams and legacy into physical forms for all the world to share.

Teenage Bounty Hunters (NETFLIX) – Atlanta, Georgia: a pair of religious-raised teenage twin sisters fall into the bounty hunting game after accidentally wrecking their father’s truck. What follows is an appropriately unrealistic but entertaining ride through typical teen life, dreams, and drama, with heavy doses of teenage badassdom and unabashedly adult conversations. It’s a show that’s far from perfect but I don’t think anyone really watches a series like this for the dramatic effect. Instead, they watch it for the promise of witty dialogue and/or the blatant fun of it, and on both levels the series succeeds.

Note: Kadeem Hardison (“A Different World”) costars as the twins’ bounty hunting handler.

Quotes of Note:

1. “You totally just boned.”

“We made love.”
“You mean you boned, but slower?”

1. “As the old saying goes, ‘Bye’.”
2. “I totally shot him in the nuts…Ballseye!”
3. “Condoms are a gateway drug to anal. I’m serious.”
4. “You’re gonna go to UGA and pledge Alpha Gamma Bitchface.”
5. “People’s faith in gossip is stronger than their faith in the Almighty.”
6. “That’s an antiquated way of thinking; this is 2020. Men can be women. Women can be Governors.”
7. “He was agnostic.”

“Is that where you think that God is a woman?”
“No, that’s where you don’t know what to believe. Which is bizarre because it’s all right there in the Bible.”

NOS4A2: Season 2 (AMC) – The Joe Hill adaptations (“Horns”, “Locke & Key”) may be better than many of his father’s early work but they’ve still all only been average, failing in structure, casting, and overall delivery. The second season of “NOS4A2” continues that lackluster trend in such incredibly boring and un-frightening fashion that it has earned a series cancellation from the network, and the following, “Read the Book” recommendation: If you’ve got time for 20 episodes of bad TV, just read the dang book, you won’t be disappointed. Joe Hill is a smart writer whose books and stories are worth the attentive investment.

Ozark: Season 3 (NETFLIX) – This master class in narrative conflict continues in superb fashion, and Holy Smokes is it worthwhile. “Ozark” continues to be one of, if not the, best adult crime dramas on television today; easily eclipsing similar fare like, “Yellowstone”. If you’re late to the party, then consider this your ‘Wake Up’ call.

-m-