Dan Brown’s The Lost
Symbol (Peacock): Dan Brown has
pretty much the exact plot in every book with different details. But the
devil’s in the details and he has some extremely thorough details and those
details are his hook.
The thing is that Dan Brown has to invent an awful lot of dues-ex-machina
situations in order to manufacture situation in which a stuffy Harvard
intellectual (no matter how good looking) like Robert Langdon is called upon to
save the world. I say “thing” and not “problem”, mind you, because the
suspension of disbelief is a price we’ll gladly pay for the mind-blowing
historical nuggets wrapped up in a James Bond-style adventure.
So with that said, this show will never earn points for originality or excellent screenwriting but it’s extremely comfortable as popcorn entertainment and I plan on gobbling it up. The cliffhangers also help and this adventure appears to be set (or at least) start in my hometown of Washington D.C. so I’m excited so far.
Only Murders in the
Building (Hulu)-The best part of the show is the press interviews between
the odd trio of Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. Unfortunately,
that’s not part of the show itself which is surprisingly mediocre.
It’s a shame because Martin Short and Steve Martin are generally can’t-miss
propositions and the idea of three amateur podcasters solving a murder plot
involves a healthy degree of serialization.
So why is this so boring? For one, the actual murder isn’t something that’s
particularly engaging. The idea is that
one of the three members (Gomez) of this makeshift sleuthing team was a
childhood friend of the murder victim but the show only commits to that angle
half-heartedly.
Another problem with the show is that it feels awfully
insiderish. “Only Murders in the Building” is set in a pretty insular Manhattan
world and two of the three characters are aging showbiz archetypes. I’m on
record as feeling pretty sated by sitcom characters who are in show business so
this isn’t drawing me any closer. The show tries to mine pathos from Martin and
Short’s characters as two old men looking back on their lives from the
perspective of their twilights but there are character arcs are pretty
predictable.
As for reasons to keep watching, Amy Ryan plays a love interest to Steve Martin
and the chemistry is genuinely sweet between these two. Additionally, there’s a
very high probability that Steve Martin or Amy Ryan will do something funny
considering that’s what they’ve been doing for most of their lives.
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)-This
has been reviewed
previously, but this show continues to fire on all cylinders. At its best,
you have home run episodes like The Casino or the one where Nandoor picks up
the same girl in the gym three times.
The Premise (FX)-BJ
Novak’s anthology series is an attempt to dramatize hot button issues through
scenarios in which characters have to make difficult choices. Through the first
three episodes, the series has been a little tonally inconsistent and hasn’t
always been rewarding but the general nuts and bolts of a good idea is there.
In the first episode, a socially conscious white person (Ben Platt) has to
humiliate himself in court to free a black person from an unlawful arrest. It’s
a direct nod to George Floyd or Michael Brown or all that. It successfully puts a character in a tight
spot though it probably splits viewers along where you stand on the degree to
which white allies need to be tested on their allyship. Either way it’s provocative.
The second episode features a new hire (Jon Bernthal) for an
expy of the National
Rifle Association. He seems like a loyal foot soldier to the cause but he might
or might not be secretly wanting to blow up the place. This is more of a
guessing game (the character already knows what they’re going to do) than a
provocative morality tale.
The third episode is about a pop star (Lucas Hedges) who wants to inspire his
high school alma mata (and perhaps do a little performance art) by offering to
sleep with the valedictorian. It’s a fine commentary on the commodification of
sex in society. Beside one jarring scene in which two of the candidates exposition
the hell out of what the audience is supposed to think, this is the best of the
three.
AP Bio (Peacock): Show runner
Michael Patrick O’Brien has done such a fantastic job world-building over the
first three seasons, that I can’t imagine myself ever getting bored with this
show. As I’ve written about plenty
of times before, this is a brilliant and endlessly fun show about a high
school teacher who initially goes out of his way to be beyond redeemable before
his better angels win out (often before each episode’s conclusion) and features
an extremely deep bench of quirky students, fellow teachers, and one helluva
needy prinicipal (Patton Oswalt).
The problem is the actress who plays Jack’s love interest Lynette got another
gig that paid her more than the recurring guest star credit. It’s hard to hold
that against the show, but they handle the transition poorly.
Lynette and Jack are vibing one episode, and the next, she’s being put on a bus. And
to pour salt in the wound, Jack is dating someone else so fast? I understand
the need to make sure good romantic plot lines are unused, but Elizabeth was
uniquely twisted. The most twisted thing about the new love interest (Hayley
Marie Norman) is that she has problems sabotaging her own relationships. But,
make no mistake, she’s nowhere in Lynette’s league in terms of juvenile fun.
Alderfer could sell you with her sly smile.
The show still has a great penchant for experimentation with a great Marcus episode in there.
Nine Perfect Strangers (Hulu)-This
is a pretty dark anthology adapted from a novel that I wouldn’t be surprised is
far better.
The cast features lots of heavy hitters including Melissa McCarthy, Michael
Shannon, Nicole Kidman, Bobby Cannavale, and---wait, is that Jason Mendoza form
“The Good Place”? Let me tell you, this show is pretty eerie by design, but
seeing Manny Jacinto under the sex spell of Nicole Kidman is a new level of
bizarre.
The story is about some wealthy clientele who go to a
healing resort where their anxieties are treated to some unorthodox methods.
It’s not too far off from the far superior “White Lotus” anthology series on in
its “Vacation is Hell” theme. So yeah, watch “White Lotus” instead.
Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail (TBS)-Previously
reviewed last month. It’s not the best season of this anthology but it is still
worthwhile.
The show gathered a little coherence by
the end but it rarely had a stand-out episode. At times when the show was
attempting to mine humor out of today’s commentary (using Todd’s alliance with
Benny’s outlaw daughter as a stand-in for Trumpism), there was no subtlety.
When the show didn’t approach hot-button issues from a perpendicular angle,
there was a lot of breathing room for Simon Rich’s brilliance to shine through.
When Prudence and Todd encounter the 19th Century version of
hipsters, there’s a lot that works because the show mixes up anachronisms between
our modern lens and historical realities.
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