dangerfar

Definitely the weakest season thus far, no episode in this round would likely crack the top half of best episodes of the series. The writing here is no longer winking and whimsical, it's downright smug and snarky (while also being rather lazy). It's as though the creators half hate the show and its fans, or find the burden of character development unbearable (the final episode's payoffs were all but muted by the fourth wall demolishing commentating bizarrely resisting getting pulled into serialization in an off-putting and narratively vapid way), and can no longer find humor in their own project, only endless cynicism crammed into conceptual vehicles that work to varying degrees (Mortyplicity was a great concept executed to mediocrity, A Rickconvenient Mort was a terrible spoof), . It feels like riding in a racecar with a driver who is utterly bored with the situation and resents greatly the desire of those in the car to extract pleasure from the things that they do. Why do you guys want to go around the track so much? Fine I'll do it and make fun of you for wanting it. As a result the season's biggest sin is that it's simply not very funny, and occasionally openly hostile towards those watching it. Hopefully there's some magic left in the tank, though I suspect this show's best days are now behind it.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

In its 5th and probably all-around strongest season Bojack continues to be a tale of two shows for me. On the one hand it is probably the sharpest, funniest, and most unpredictable comedy out there this side of Rick & Morty (interesting times that find the two sharpest comedies on TV are adult cartoons on non-traditional networks). On the other it is a fairly ho-hum and tedious drama, so concerned with self-pity and depression that it relentlessly concocts endless ways for the protagonist and the other morose characters on the show to hate themselves. Thankfully it feels like the balance is finally tilting toward the former. Slowly and painfully (which is perhaps what the writers were going for to attempt to reflect personal evolution realistically) the self-proclaimed "damaged" or "broken" characters are starting to see the bright side more frequently, and sabotage themselves and the viewers' enjoyment a little less. And not to belittle the show's attempt at drama too much, because its efforts are heartfelt and obviously connect with a lot of people. However the exploration has remained fairly shallow and contrived, repeatedly utilizing the same tired exposition about self-faults and a vague sense of "emptiness" until it feels like, well, beating a dead horse. These are topics that should have been covered in at the most a season, with maybe some sprinklings later on, but it's difficult to stay engaged with a story that appears so possessed with a moaning Myrtle (or insert your other self-pitying character from other stories that thankfully didn't overuse those aspects of them) that it can't hold any promise that demons will be exorcised and things will move along to more interesting territory. Still, it seems to be heading in the right direction, and the quality of the absurdist comedic writing is so good, and the chances the show takes are so unique (the eulogy episode for instance, which I didn't like much but admired, or the me-too commentary which was outrageously spot-on), that I can't help but recommend it to anyone willing to put up with long drags of self-pitying exposition. There is a true gem of a show here, I just wish it would stop insisting it needs to be covered in dirt to be emotionally resonant.

[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]

An exceptional sci-fi novel adapted into a visually engaging but emotionally and mentally stunted television show, I found myself equal parts giddy and disappointed along the way. It shines brightly when it gives life and dimensions to its source material, and stumbles badly when it attempts to inject conventional, archaic, and dumbed down arcs of its own design. The source material is some of the best sci-fi I've ever read. Thought-provoking, brooding, mysterious, it's an excellent conglomeration of many of my favorite elements in stories of any type. And lucky for the TV series, this is still at the center here. The vision of the city is excellent, the main story and world are fantastic, and though graphic in the extreme it can be a viscerally engaging experience. The casting is a mixed bag, with some (such as Kovacs and Poe) being charismatic and interesting and some (Ortega) being derivative and poorly portrayed which can take you out of the moment in a hurry. Where it really goes off the rails is when it tries to alter the story to be more conventional, and presumably appeal to the demographic info Netflix presumably thinks it has collected. This involves needless deviations into the most poorly acted character of the bunch, and dumbing down the writing of the climax to such a degree that it squanders some of the most thought provoking and unique aspects of the source story. Much of the encouragement it cultivates by being made in the first place is diminished by the fact that they're still insistent on dumbing things down and shoehorning things into demographics. Just let the story be what it is. Anyway, I both enjoyed and loathed the first season, and am both optimistic and pessimistic about it's future. I liked the 2nd and 3rd books far less than the first, but perhaps this will keep me from being as disappointed when they try and TV-ify the story with poor acting.

Top Shelf (Best stuff on TV) 1) The Ricklantis Mixup - One of the most well-written episodes of television I've ever seen. It has enough humor and poignance to outdo most dramatic feature length films in the span of 20 minutes. 2) Rest and Ricklaxation - Fast and furious with humor and some well placed characterization/insights 3) The Rickshank Redemption - Don't **** with Rick. Rick and Morty for a thousand years! Wonderful (Multi-dimensional Awesomeness) 4) The Whirly Dirly Conspiracy - What a trip through the wormhole, I won't call it back for a few days though. 5) Pickle Rick - Outrageous and yet still down to Earth Solid (Fun in a way only R&M can be) 6) Morty's Mind Blowers - I personally vastly prefer this to the Interdimensional cable 7) Rickmancing the Stone - I didn't like Mad Max as much as everyone else either Fine (Still happy for the attempt, though not my favorites) 8) The ABC's of Beth - Definitely the most interesting turn for Beth's character 9) The Rickchurian Candidate - Which kind of lost itself in the weeds to yet another battle of egos w/ Rick 10) Vindicators 3 - Maybe I should go back and watch the first 2? Overall I think Season 3 had more weak points than either of the previous 2, but its highs reached the levels of the best episodes in the series, and w/ The Ricklantis Mixup probably the very highest thus far. If I had to rank it, it'd be: 1) Season 2 2) Season 1 3) Season 3 It remains my favorite show on TV by a wide margin.

One of the most promising first seasons ever put on TV, Rick & Morty blends whip-smart sci-fi fantasy comedy with occasionally heartfelt drama as grounded as anything found anywhere. It's very rare a show, or any piece of entertainment, that can make you laugh out loud, think existentially about the universe and your own place in it, provide meta-commentary, and get you home in time for some every day truth. Last show I saw that had all of these elements was Harmon's previous much-embattled comedy Community. Rick & Morty is truly special because it contains the most special parts of it's creators' shows. The meta, razor sharp and laugh out loud funny writing of Community with the unhinged quality of Adventure Time (and animation in general). There's a lot going here to be excited about. Most of the best shows in TV have taken a lot of time to hit this high a bar. Even the aforementioned Community was on into it's 20th episode or so before it really let loose the cannon with "Modern Warfare." Arrested Development is probably the only other show that comes to mind that was hitting gold in it's first few episodes. Here's hoping Rick & Morty, not having the pressures of basic cable's antiquated ratings system, can live long and prosper. I fear only their fans' adulation poses a threat to its continued greatness (messing with the creators' and writers' heads).

The second season, much like the first, offers up a unique blend of absurdist comedy and self-pitying drama with funny and poignant moments sprinkled along the way. Most of its focus is drawn to what is essentially what is the counterpoint of the HBO show Entourage. While Entourage was all Hollywood glitz and glamour Bojack is all Hollywood moroseness and hollowness. Much like Entourage, Bojack is in truth an occasionally funny soap opera. I haven't found any of the character development to be terribly interesting or new, this is all ground that's been covered before and I've never cared much for to begin with (not being in Hollywood and already having developed my own cynicism around the culture it creates). And Bojack's narration of his own failings becomes more tedium than pathos, nearing but ultimately failing to register with anything that feels real. Again, not being in Hollywood I find it hard to sympathize with a character's search for happiness and meaning when (spoiler alert) they find out egotism, gluttony, drugs, and fame don't hold the answers (who'dve thunk?). Still, there are enough chuckle moments, fun side stories involving Todd or Mr. Peanut Butter (far and away my two favorite characters), animal jokes, great music (theme song and its variations are some of the best music to come out of any television recently), and interesting turns to keep me compelled and entertained through the episodes. I won't be sitting on the edge of my seat for Season 3, but when it comes around I'll shrug my shoulders, say what the hey, and check on everyone's favorite hopelessly lost can't seem to do anything right horse. Don't act like you don't know.

John Mulaney is funny, he really is. As a stand-up comedian, and I'm also told as a writer, he's got some serious chops (which is the reason he got he show in the first place). Unfortunately, his new show is at best tired and recycled, and at worst cringe-worthily terrible. It makes you wonder who close to the young comedian is watching this telling him he's on the right track. One of the best attributes of Mulaney the stand-up is his ability to draw you into a story about his immature and often hilarious psyche and keep you interested and laughing the whole way through. One of the worst parts about Mulaney the show is it's absolutely awful attempt at re-creating those stories in a traditional sitcom manner. For instance, the opening scene where he gets a prostate exam is straight out of his act, only it is by orders of magnitude better there. His acting is basically just him doing his stand-up, and the bad supporting cast and production makes it all feel very forced. Even the actual stand-up interludes, where he tells jokes that can be seen in his specials are compressed and rushed versions of the real thing, adding to the tension and skipping over the evolution the story typically gets to make the tale so funny. For instance in his stand-up when he slowly tells us how he accidentally chased a woman in a subway station, it is a riotous tale evolves slowly and escalates dramatically, like a friend regaling you and feeding off of your laughs on each sentence. Here it's like that same friend is late for a meeting and is just rushing through to tell you the punch-lines as quickly as possible. There's nothing funny here, nothing original, nothing that seems to be of any value at all. Again I wonder who is watching this telling those involved they've got something good....