What I'm Watching September Update: Lost Symbol, AP Bio, Only Murders in the Building, The Premise review

 

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 19^th Century version of hipsters, there’s a lot that works because the show mixes up anachronisms between our modern lens and historical realities.

Best TV of 2020: 10 Honorable Mentions

Cobra Kai (YouTube Red/Netflix)-The catharsis of landing a devastating flying kick at your bully is at the core of the Cobra Kai experience. The bully-bullied relationship took on added complexity in the show’s second season as it seemed like everyone had an axe to grind based on their socio-economic status or lack of a father figure or the classic “you kissed my boyfriend, prepare to die” scenario. Yes, it was a soapish season but it was one that built the world and developed a lot of solid supporting characters

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Miracle Workers: The Dark Ages (TBS)-This would likely be my tenth pick and I was prepared to write it off, but upon rewatch, however, this show is too darn clever. Show runner Simon Rich wrote the show “Man Seeking Woman” and the short story “What in God’s Name”, upon which the first season is based on, and he is a comic genius. His story of extremely unlikely upward mobility in an era where doing anything other than dying of the plague is virtually impossible.

Middleditch and Schwartz (Netflix)-A live special of Thomas Middleditch ("Silicon Valley") and Ben Schwartz ("Sonic the Hedgehog") are geniuses at this art form. They effortlessly switch characters; incorporate comic tics very early on so you're laughing sooner than later; and think several steps ahead to where the story should go. It's not too far-fetched to think that they could write a sitcom pilot on the spot. Jesse David Fox wrote an excellent article about how this could resurrect the often maligned form of improv, but the problem is that most improv shows you see don't feature people with these abilities. The only problem is that Middleditch and Schwartz only have three episodes. 

Never Have I Ever (Netflix)-Co-created by Mindy Kaling, this teen comedy centers on an American-Indian teenager and gleefully subverts the stereotype that a South Asian teenager is obedient and primarily focused on academics. Sure, Dev is smart but she uses her good grades to shove it in her frenemy’s face and begins her sophomore year making a beeline straight for Boyfriend City (or at least sloppily attempting to land there). “Never Have I Ever” dramatizes the dichotomy between immigrant norms and assimilation in a very funny package and won me over quite a bit by zigging where I expected it to zag. The first season closed on one hell of a rewarding tear-jerker.

Nora from Queens (Comedy Central)-Awkwafina broke out in “Crazy Rich Asians” and has had a number of notable roles on screen in an astonishingly short time but nothing is as pure a form of her comic gifts as this show. Awkwafina is a developmentally stunted late twenty-something with minimal job credentials who lives at home and completely owns her mediocrity in all its glory.

Solar Opposites (Hulu)-The sophomore effort behind the team that bought us “Rick and Morty” (Mike McMahon and Justin Roliand) brings us a similar playground of extreme high-tech humor without the nihilism or needlessly complex mythology that the former has. The concept of the show—aliens have to present some semblance of normalcy--has been done many times ranging from “Mork and Mindy” to “Third Rock from the sun”, but the jokes fly at a faster pace than even by 21^st century standards. The show casually throws out a very wide range of concepts

Space Force (Netflix)-I get the backlash about how lazy it is to rip a show premise from the most bizarre thing in the news. At the same time, both TV insiders and critics know the premise of a TV show is often what gets the show greenlit and is a very incomplete measure of a show’s worth. Yes, the show has plot holes the size of swiss cheese but the solid writing of sitcom pros is on display. Like “The Office” (of which Greg Daniels, Brent Forrester and Paul Lieberstein are also writers here), the characters all have strong comic foundations and there are some very intriguing character pairings. Humorwise, the show splits the balance between poignant satire and throw-away absurdity.

Teenage Bounty Hunters (Netflix)-Call it the “13 Reasons Why” effect. Netflix has developed a wide ilk of teenage shows and this one hits the mark really well. Bounty Hunters hones in on the hypocrisies and occasionally progressive homely vibes in the culture of Christian boarding schools. Pre-marital sex is the opposite of brag-worthy here and group prayer is in. Our heroes are twins Sterling and Blair and they’re juggling a little bit of everything:  juicy sex triangles, a secret side gig as bounty hunters (think Nancy Drew, but a bit more hard-core), family troubles, and a refreshingly honest look at navigating religious ethics.

Unorthodox (Netflix)-As someone who has spent time on the fringes of an Orthodox community in Richmond, Virginia, I have seen modern Orthodox Judaism up close, and have often heard horror stories about some communities in the Northeast and this is what this show is about: The entrapment that countless individuals face growing up in such a religious state of insularity where they’re kept from even knowing there’s any other way of life. The magnitude of this knowledge differential is ripe for drama and this miniseries goes a long way to telling that story from a well-researched perspective. 

We Are the Champions (Netflix)-As someone who’s been fascinated with some of the world’s most bizarre sports (Bog snorkeling, chess boxing, canal jumping are a few of my favorites), this is my bread and butter. At its height, Rainn Wilson’s narration and Nature-Channel-style storytelling captures the glorious spectacle of something I was already enthusiastic like cheese rolling. Things like hair styling or dog dancing weren’t things I ever felt I’d be caught up in, but the format of the show with its the gradual balancing of storylines and exposition made pretty much any absurd competition watchable. 

TV has had an amazing year which has been a blessing during the quarantine. There are a number of shows that would have made honorable mention status in most other years: Animaniacs (Hulu), Archer (FX), Five Apartments (Peacock), Medical Police (Netflix), Studio C (BYU TV), Twilight Zone (CBS All Access), White Lines (Netflix)

Stay tuned for the top 10...

25 Best Characters on TV in 2020

1. Linda Cardinelli as Judy Hale, Dead to Me-A wet ball of emotion caught in the center of an accidental murder in this dark comedy, Judy is magnetic in her endless positivity, empathy, and hope. She deservedly wins over the cynic Jen Harding and her family and when the two break down crying, it’s worth all the feels. The character is also cleverly dressed in bright colors and cute outfits to radiate her persona and even in times of distress, she remains resolved to make lemonade out of lemons.

2. Mahershala Ali as Sheikh Malik, Ramy- Ali is the first Muslim to win an Academy Award in acting and he reportedly jumped at the chance to be in the most mainstream piece of pop culture portraying American Muslims to date. His character oozes wisdom and authority and there’s a lot to be said about the way Ali pauses in conversations to show that he doesn’t take even basic human interaction lightly.

3. Awkwafina as Nora, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens-Awkwafina broke out in Crazy Rich Asians and has had a number of notable roles on screen in an astonishingly short time but if you want to see her unleashed in her full comic glory, you have to watch Nora from Queens. The character is a developmentally stunted late twenty-something with minimal job credentials who lives at home and completely owns her mediocrity in all its glory. Awkwafina works the character’s baseless positivity through physical comedy, voice inflections, and facial tics and it’s a master class.

4. Jack Quaid as Hughie, The Boys-The closest equivalent modern television has to a Hitchcockian hero a la North by Northwest or The 39 Steps. Jack is constantly over his head and never asked to be on the wrong end of a global conspiracy but he has gradually grown into the role and is a great one to root for.

5. Belinda Bromilow as Auntie Elizabeth, The Great-Cautious enablers of autocrats might not necessarily be in vogue right now, but the beauty of a period piece is it enables us to look at characters from a distance. Rather than looking at Elizabeth as a proverbial Ivanka to an 18th century Donald Trump, we can simply take her as an interesting character on her own merits and that she is. She’s firmly old money but is quite sharp for a woman in a pre-feminist era and is never out of the loop of court intrigue.

6. Chris Rock as Loy Cannon, Fargo-Rock has been ill-served by a filmography that couldn’t successfully harness his comic gifts or speech cadences. If Chris Rock were to ever fit into a dramatic role, this would be it. It channels his observational prowess, punctuated line delivery and adds a hint of world weariness.

7. Hank Azaria as Jim Brockmire, Brockmire-Alcoholic characters are a dime a dozen but Brockmire is a truly unique brand of mess. Predicated on a Funny-or-Die sketch in which a baseball broadcaster can’t stop tourets-ing about his personal demons on air, Brockmire has been a hilarious character for four seasons whether he’s winning or losing at life. The show’s final season saw the character closing out his own life out on a win. Considering how impossible this seemed from the outset, it was nothing short of inspiring.

8. Jo Firestone as Sarah, Joe Pera Talks to You-In this sweet subplot of two oddballs connecting romantically, Sarah has some lovely quirks. She compliments Joe nicely through her social awkwardness as she is afraid of crowds and has moments of frustration that hint at something deeper. She’s never not animated whereas he is more reserved. The biggest bombshell about Sarah, however, is that she casually believes in an imminent apocalypse like it ain’t no thing. Bring on the brimstone.

9. Ramy Yousef as Ramy, Ramy-How refreshing is it that a male TV show protagonist isn’t about trying to get laid but trying to avoid the perils of sexual temptation? Whatever your thoughts are about religion or Ramy’s particular religion, watching Ramy struggle on his journey is rarely devoid of insight.

10. Wynn Everett as Ellen Johnson, Teenage Bounty Hunters-The guidance counselor every high schooler wish they had. She’s the kind of side character that hints at a richer back story you’d want to see more episodes of.

11. Jessie Buckley as Oraetta Maylower, Fargo-Every season of Fargo has an off-beat character who treats murder with the same gravity as watering their hydrangeas and that’s Oraetta Mayflower in a nutshell. Only this time, it’s baking pies.

12. Bette Middler as Haddasah Gold, The Politician-Hadassah manages to remain endearing (to the audience, at least) while remaining brash, unfiltered, and ruthless.

13. Laura Haddock as Zoe, White Lines-The psychotropic paradise-set noir had a lead protagonist that was pushy, and sometimes foolish but never devoid of passion or charisma.

14. Jillian Bell voicing Violet Heart, Bless the Hearts-The deadpan goth daughter (think a more thoughtful version of Aubrey Plaza navigating high school) stepped into the spotlight quite a bit this season with episodes showing her having a wide range of emotions and puncturing a couple of holes through her veneer.

15. Matthew Berry as Jackie Daytona (AKA Laszlo Cravenworth), What We Do in the Shadows-The alter ego created by Laszlo in order to flee a duel is a high school volleyball coach and bartender who can hide his true form with a simple tooth pick. Few guises could be more ridiculous and few random character traits put together could be as surreptitiously funny.

16. Kayla Cromer as Mathilda, Everything’s Gonna Be Ok-For the show’s tonally jarring mixture of serious and frivolous, it at least gets one thing right: The autistic character of Mathilda, who is far more vibrant than the typical mold of the disabled character we ordinarily get. Like any ambitious person, Mathilda wants to be more than what her condition defined her as: Sexual, popular, independent.

17. Dawnn Lewis voicing Becket Mariner, Star Trek: Lower Decks-The Star Trek canon would forever be incomplete if a character like Mariner didn’t eventually surface. It wouldn’t make sense that in this massive space fleet, a few iconoclasts or slackers wouldn’t pop up among the lower ranks. Luckily, Mariner is an apt mixture of both.

18. Ben Whishaw as Rabbi Milligan, Fargo-For those who found the season’s opening montage confusing (though undeniably visually fantastic), Milligan was the son of an Irish mob boss who was forced as a pawn between the Irish and Jewish mobs to be raised by a Rabbi’s family. As a kid, he abetted his father in a slaughter of Kansas City’s Jewish mafia, then turned on his Irish family years later to secure a top lieutenantship in the incoming Italian mob. In the present, the Rabbi isn’t to be trusted but his instincts aren’t violent or malicious. He simply laments the imperfect hand of cards he’s been dealt with and tries to make do.

19. Aya Cash as Stormfront (Kiara Risinger), The Boys-Every good superhero series needs a villain and while an argument can be made for putting a moratorium on the Nazis, I’m willing to excuse it with Stormfront for the shock value of the reveal alone. Raise your hand if you saw her origin story coming.

20. Rob Riggle as himself, Holey Moley-This wacky sports competition that would be at home on the fictional TV station, “The Ocho”, as presented by the movie Dodgeball. Helping keep the surreal vibe alive of treating mini-golf as if it’s the world’s most intense sport is comedy vet Rob Riggle who commits fully to the bit while riffing so hard that his broadcasting partner, Joe Tessatore, can barely keep from breaking most of the time.

21. Natasa Demetriu as Nadja, What We Do in the Shadows-Like her fellow vampires, Nadja has about as much empathy to humans as we mortals have towards farm hens that will eventually end up in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Occasionally, she’ll humor them or entertain a centuries-long romantic fling, but don’t mess with her jewelery. With Demetriu’s vocal inflections, she really sells the “oh, what an adorable human” angle.

22. Justin Kirk as Peter, Kidding-A very rich and nuanced portrayal of a step dad awkwardly trying to fit into a new family. A considerate guy, Peter treads the line in a rough relationship of exes. He tries to be both a supportive husband to a woman who wants space from her ex, and a genuine pillar of support to the severely scarred ex himself. And don’t forget his killer musical number.

23. Geraldine Viswanathan as Alexandra Shitshoveler, Miracle Workers-Imagine being the only sane man (or woman) in the Dark Ages of Europe capable of making the observation, “hey, maybe we’re not living in a good era of history.” Alexandra has ambitions in a time when the concept of ambition doesn’t exist and that’s a pretty solid character to base an ambitious comedy around.

24. Kate Mara as Claire Wilson in A Teacher-Judging by the reviews and internet comments, not everyone was able to move past Claire’s sins to appreciate the complexity of the story being told about her situation. That’s a shame because if you make that leap of empathy, there’s an interesting portrait about the why and the how of someone who falls into a situation which would brand her with quite the scarlet letter.

25. Jennifer Esposito as Brenda, Awkwafina is Nora From Queens-For a socially awkward single dad who’s best dating days are behind him, Brenda is the best you can hope for. She ricochets your lame dad jokes with some old spinster humor and accommodates your mid-life paralysis to see the prince within. Sweet, artsy, and eccentric, Brenda made a big impression with a small amount of screen time.

Honorable Mentions:

Amanda Peete as Jules James, Brockmire; Bowen Yang as Bao, the Chinese Trade Minister, SNL; Catherine Keener as Diedre Pickles, Kidding; Daniel Radcliffe as Prince Frederick, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt; Elizabeth Berkley, Saved by the Bell; Hamza Haq as Bashir Hamed, Transplant; Heidi Gardner as Bailey Gismert, SNL; Jessica Rothe as Samantha, Utopia; Jessica St. Clair as Kelly, Space Force; Jessica Walters voicing Mallory Archer, Archer; Jimmy O Yang as Dr. Chan Keifang, Space Force; Julie Garner as Ruth Langamore in Ozark; Kate Mara as Claire Wilson in A Teacher; Lisa Kudrow as Hypathia, The Good Place; Maddie Phillips as Sterling Weasley, Teenage Bounty Counters; Mary Mack voicing Jesse, Solar Opposites; Mary Mouser as Sam LaRusso, Cobra Kai; Maya Rudolph voicing Betty Hart, Bless the Harts; Nicole Law as May, Tales from the Loop; Nuno Lopez as Boxer, White Lines; Patton Oswalt as Principal Durbin, AP Bio; Peyton List as Tori, Cobra Kai; Poorna Jagannathan as Nalini Vishwakumar, Never Have I Ever