As We See It (Amazon)-The story takes place in the Bay area with three autistic people with wildly different wants of life and situations sharing a house under one roof with the guidance of their ridiculously awesome life coach Mandy (Sosie Bacon). Half the appeal is watching Mandy show understanding, commitment, and love in ways that I’m not even capable of in the presence of other autistic people, and I’m on the upper end of the spectrum myself. The story progresses well and trisects with the three central autistic characters diverging towards different paths of which the other two are only marginally aware of.
As someone who is both on the upper end of the spectrum and spent most of my life either unaware that I was on it or actively denying I had it, I can imagine these desires — impatience at people dumber than you, defining your adolescence by sexual experience, the desire to grow up, how desperately you might need a friend if you don’t get out much — as relatable to anyone. The difference is that an autistic person might have a greater barrier to processing these problems.
It’s also worth noting that outside of “Everything’s Gonna Be OK” (which is really not my cup out of tea outside its autistic character), few shows have had characters that are officially identified with this label. Before we give the two shows I’ve covered so far such big accolades, it’s worth noting that TV has had characters appear on TV who had an amiguous disorder because the writers didn’t dive into the psychology manual and weren’t living in a society that rewarded the breaking of glass ceilings. On “The Big Bang Theory”, for example Jim Parsons didn’t realize that Sheldon was likely a person who had Asperger’s until well into the show’s run. Perhaps there’s something to be said for the way a character like that evolved organically, but that’s a discussion for another day.
Space Force (Netflix)-This was on my top 12 shows of 2020 Honorable Mention list even though it has a non-sensical premise. Even if it did happen in the four upside down years of real life during the last presidency, it’s never not jarring hearing a show about a Space Force. It’s growing on its character beats. The romantic story in the middle between the characters played by Tawny Newsome and Jimmy O. Yang is actually played out well in an inverse of the “will they-won’t they” because the two have already slept together and now they’re trying to figure each other out afterwards. Yes, the show is easy fodder for a punchline because the whole show is based on a throwaway punch line, but that doesn’t mean it can’t eventually make its way to be watchable TV.
At the show’s center, one problem is that General Naird (Steve Carell) isn’t a particularly fertile well for any sort of comic tension or anything else for that matter. He’s slightly stubborn in the way most military leaders are (probably by design of their job) and has the requisite stiff demeanor, and there’s an inkling of an ark where a stubborn man might learn his lesson of listening to others (a la Home Improvement) but Naird is fundamentally a decent guy so the bell curve of his arc is pretty flat.
Running Wilde (NBC in 2010, now playing on Tubi)-Mitch Hurwitz’s follow-up to Arrested Development that brings together AD veterans David Cross and Will Arnett with Keri Russell (pre-Americans, post-Felicity). It’s fascinating for a reassessment because there are glimpses of Hurwitz’s brilliance at winding plots together and exposing characters’ blind sides. This time Hurwitz’s genre of choice is the screwball comedy which is about characters negotiating romantic, gender, and class divides in various factions.
The premise, however, is far less adaptable to sustainable comedy in that the central character idle rich Stephen Wilde (Arnett) devotes a tremendous amount of effort and money to courting a childhood crush who is engaged (to Cross). Throwing all the romantic comedy tropes at the fan still doesn’t justify any of these characters’ efforts (I’m not commenting on anyone’s ethics, I’ll leave that to feminist or anti-feminist reviewers to fight amongst themselves over) though it does help the absurdity of it all that Keri Russell’s daughter (Stephania Owen) narrates the absurdity of it all knowing full well that the three principals of the story are supreme idiots.
Disenchantment (Netflix)-The fourth season is slightly better than Season 3. It made my Honorable Mention list in 2019 and my Top 12 in its debut season.
Doll Face (Hulu)-This charming show about female bonding separates itself a little from the “Sex and the City” template by prioritizing a focus on female bonding over the requisite relationship drama. Its as if the show is aware that it can’t pass the Bechdel Test organically and that’s ok.
What’s more problematic is that the show’s quartet is a little bit distant from a Middle America perspective in that they all have jobs in the quaternary and quinary sectors as influencers and marketers. Sort of millennial faux aristocracy.
Kat Dennings is so charming, in my eyes, that she makes material as hackneyed as the double-entendre-laden drivel of “Two Broke Girls” work and she only gets better as the material becomes decent. Esther Povitsky is a gem as well. She’s half with-it and half helpless dork. The other two members of the quartet are forgettable.
Inventing Anna (Netflix)-A journalist (Anna Chlumsky) who is trying to survive in a sink-or-swim work environment sees a fraudulent heiress on trial (Julia Garner). It might have been better if I didn’t read how it all ends but it gets a lot of mileage out of Julia Garner’s vague European accent and the scenery porn. As a journalist I know what it’s like to have the doubly hard task of getting your sources cooperation and getting your editors on board your story idea. Most people don’t realize that you need both those orbits to align to get your story.
