TV Round-Up
Nov. 10th, 2024 10:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tiggymalvern
A couple of months slipped by again, and we watched quite a range of things...
The Sympathizer (HBO) This was.. quite a trip. Satirical comedy about a Viet Cong spy in the southern Vietnamese secret police who gets evacuated to America at the end of the war. Less Vietnam war satire than you might think (though there is definitely commentary on the horrific stupidity of that entire situation), a lot of satire on the immigrant experience and the American assumption of superiority. Episode 4 is hilarious, as it tackles Hollywood and the making of a Vietnam war film with our spy protagonist roped in as a consultant. And a lot of commentary on how it really isn't nice to be a spy...
Robert Downey Junior plays multiple roles as every kind of American arsehole imaginable, from a CIA spy to a corrupt Congressman to a crackpot director. Is that a commentary on the racism of 'they all look the same to us?' Is it a commentary on how every kind of American arsehole is just as complicitly shitty?
Whatever the intention, it works either way.
Definitely not always a comfortable watch, but I'm glad I did. Be warned, though - satire, yes, but it's a spy series that involves war. There is brutality, there is torture, there is graphic stuff that some people might not want to see.
Slow Horses season 4. It's Slow Horses. It's good, twisty spy drama. The cast are great. I liked 4 more than 3, but not quite as much as 1 or 2. If you like it, you'll like this installment too.
Deadloch Amazon. (Yes, C, I know you told me to watch it about a year ago - it finally made it to the top of the pile!) Black comedy about murder in a small Tasmanian town being investigated by a lesbian police officer.
I'll be honest, I was pretty circumspect about this for the first three episodes. The Darwin detective was annoyingly OTT and obviously wrong, and why would anyone have assigned this idiot to help on a murder inquiry? But by ep 4, it's explained why she's behaving like that and what exactly is going on with her, and the whole thing settles in to tell a story and it becomes genuinely good. A murder comedy with a strong side of social commentary, as a progressive mayor tries to remake a small town into a queer haven. Definitely worth a look for something different.
Agatha All Along From the same creator as WandaVision, and you can tell. That's a good thing BTW, as WandaVision remains the standout among the onslaught of Disney Marvel TV shows. (Agent Carter was also standout, but that wasn't Disney.) Just like Wanda, Agatha begins cute and silly and gets darker and more tragic with a couple of hard-hitting last eps. Kathryn Hahn really gets to show her range in this one and the supporting cast are solid too. Jac Schaeffer knows how to tell a story.
Dungeon Meshi. Very typical anime - a combination of the silly and the serious. It started out very superficial and ridiculous and whatever, but gained substance as it went on and the characters became real people with backstories. It was fine. If there's another season I'll watch more, but I won't miss it if there isn't.
The Sympathizer (HBO) This was.. quite a trip. Satirical comedy about a Viet Cong spy in the southern Vietnamese secret police who gets evacuated to America at the end of the war. Less Vietnam war satire than you might think (though there is definitely commentary on the horrific stupidity of that entire situation), a lot of satire on the immigrant experience and the American assumption of superiority. Episode 4 is hilarious, as it tackles Hollywood and the making of a Vietnam war film with our spy protagonist roped in as a consultant. And a lot of commentary on how it really isn't nice to be a spy...
Robert Downey Junior plays multiple roles as every kind of American arsehole imaginable, from a CIA spy to a corrupt Congressman to a crackpot director. Is that a commentary on the racism of 'they all look the same to us?' Is it a commentary on how every kind of American arsehole is just as complicitly shitty?
Whatever the intention, it works either way.
Definitely not always a comfortable watch, but I'm glad I did. Be warned, though - satire, yes, but it's a spy series that involves war. There is brutality, there is torture, there is graphic stuff that some people might not want to see.
Slow Horses season 4. It's Slow Horses. It's good, twisty spy drama. The cast are great. I liked 4 more than 3, but not quite as much as 1 or 2. If you like it, you'll like this installment too.
Deadloch Amazon. (Yes, C, I know you told me to watch it about a year ago - it finally made it to the top of the pile!) Black comedy about murder in a small Tasmanian town being investigated by a lesbian police officer.
I'll be honest, I was pretty circumspect about this for the first three episodes. The Darwin detective was annoyingly OTT and obviously wrong, and why would anyone have assigned this idiot to help on a murder inquiry? But by ep 4, it's explained why she's behaving like that and what exactly is going on with her, and the whole thing settles in to tell a story and it becomes genuinely good. A murder comedy with a strong side of social commentary, as a progressive mayor tries to remake a small town into a queer haven. Definitely worth a look for something different.
Agatha All Along From the same creator as WandaVision, and you can tell. That's a good thing BTW, as WandaVision remains the standout among the onslaught of Disney Marvel TV shows. (Agent Carter was also standout, but that wasn't Disney.) Just like Wanda, Agatha begins cute and silly and gets darker and more tragic with a couple of hard-hitting last eps. Kathryn Hahn really gets to show her range in this one and the supporting cast are solid too. Jac Schaeffer knows how to tell a story.
Dungeon Meshi. Very typical anime - a combination of the silly and the serious. It started out very superficial and ridiculous and whatever, but gained substance as it went on and the characters became real people with backstories. It was fine. If there's another season I'll watch more, but I won't miss it if there isn't.
