WANDAVISION Blurry

 Article first published as TV Review: WANDAVISION on Seat42F.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers from the first two episodes.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s first television show, the highly anticipated WANDAVISION, dropped its first two episodes yesterday on Disney+. Set in a fantasy sitcom world, the series is slow to reveal the mysteries at its heart, instead dwelling in the neighborhood that has been constructed, and not giving viewers many clues as to why or how these characters are here. It’s a strange, surreal comedy that touches every cliché of decades past, with a dark undertone for what will surely be revealed as the season unfolds.

Elizabeth Olsen reprises her role from the films as Wanda Maximoff, while Paul Bettany returns as Vision. This premise is immediately suspect as, last we saw Vision, he had been utterly destroyed by Thanos. Yet, here he is, happily married to Wanda and in a suburbia that never existed. This isn’t just a reimaging, as the presence of a beekeeper (a familiar symbol of AIM to comic book fans) and a garbled radio broadcast asking Wanda what was done to her make it clear there is a life beyond this constructed one. So the question seems to be, who captured Wanda and what kind of experiments are they doing on her that has left her locked in this dream with her deceased lover?

WANDAVISION could easily just be Wanda-centric, given she is possibly the only one truly existing here, but the title and the way the story unfolds gives equal weight to both heroes, hinting that perhaps something of Vision has survived the removal of the Soul stone from his lifeless physical form. Given that Vision started in the MCU as an A.I., it is reasonable to think perhaps he can continue as such, even as fans (including myself) may hold out hope for him to rejoin the rest of the Avengers in the real world eventually.

I could easily see WANDAVISION as a film instead of a nine-part series that presumably will run about four and a half hours. It lingers so, so much in the fake scenario, going through entire stories in each of the first two installments. The premiere is about Vision having his boss and his wife over for dinner, and of course Wanda isn’t prepared and things go wrong. This one looks like the ‘50s in a The Dick Van Dyke Show house. Yet, as the second episode begins, they’re shifted over to a 1960s Bewitched format (with no comment on the change) for a talent show scenario involving the local women’s club. Each are stand-alone entries of slightly different styles, but there are small hints at reality trying to bust through. As enjoyable as these are, I began to quickly grow impatient to get to the larger narrative. Though a Pleasantville-style occurrence in the second installment indicates the pacing might speed up a little soon, and the ‘commercials’ are definitely leading to something.

Despite my wish that WANDAVISION not move so slowly, there are many familiar faces to help it along and make the wait go easier. Kathryn Hahn (Transparent) is fantastic as nosy neighbor and friend, Agnes. Debra Jo Rupp (That ‘70s Show) delights as Vision’s boss’s wife, Mrs. Hart. Emma Caulfield Ford (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) is perfect as the mean lady that heads the local ladies. Teyonah Parris (Mad Men) is immediately magnetic as Geraldine. There are many others, as well, and if there wasn’t a mystery box waiting to be opened, this could be a fun throwback sitcom outside of Marvel.

One of the actors above has been confirmed to actually be someone who exists beyond this, and was played by someone else in an MCU film, though to avoid spoiling, I won’t say which one. Additionally, other performers from the MCU movies have been tied to this production, they just haven’t shown up yet. I’m anxious to get to those reveals.

I liked WANDAVISION, but I do wish, because they’ve chosen the drag the story out over 9 episodes, that they’d just released them all at once for us to binge. It’s frustrating and hurts my enjoyment to not get much towards the big picture in episodes 1 and 2. After this much anticipation, I feel like we needed a little more payoff. Let’s hope the ensuing weeks make up for that (and I suspect they will). I can’t help but think most of the glowing reviews are from those that have seen more than has been released to the public at this point.

WANDAVISION streams weekly on Disney+.

No SURVIVOR'S REMORSE From Watching This Show

Article first published as SURVIVOR'S REMORSE Review on Seat42F.

Starz’s latest series, taking over Outlander’s timeslot this week, is SURVIVOR’S REMORSE. It is the story of hugely successful basketball superstar Cam Calloway (Jesse T. Usher, Level Up) and his cousin, best friend, and manager Reggie Vaughn (RonReaco Lee, Let’s Stay Together). They are now living the big life, but cannot forget about where they came from, a rough neighborhood in which people are still struggling. How do you balance fame and fortune with helping out those who don’t have it? Can charity be misinterpreted?

It may not surprise you to learn that SURVIVOR’S REMORSE is inspired by (but not based on) the true story of LeBron James, who serves as a producer on the show. After all, Lebron’s rise to legend is memorable, and he’s still relevant on the court today. As an Ohioan, I’ve been hearing about him for quite a long time. It may, however, be unexpected to read that a major driving force and writer on the project is Mike O’Malley (Glee, Yes, Dear), a middle-aged white guy who is more known for his on-screen work than his writing talents. That could potentially change.

Whoever is making SURVIVOR’S REMORSE, though, isn’t nearly as important as how good the show is or isn’t. Happily, SURVIVOR’S REMORSE is terrific. An urban-influenced Entourage (which is not code for the skin color of the performers, which matters, but isn’t the main point), the characters are authentic and complex, and the story shows the influence of real people and events. We see how money can change a person and those around them, and we also see how different individuals choose to deal with that.

In the first episode, someone back in the old neighborhood happens upon some embarrassing material from Cam’s childhood and tries to extort the athlete. In the tapes and writings, Cam is shown being sexist and racist. This stuff shouldn’t matter because kids do dumb things and Cam never really felt the way it seems, but it does in modern society, where content can have a very long shelf life and spread rapidly. More importantly, how this guy relates to Cam and Reggie, whom remember him fondly and do want to help him out, is skewed by his pride and jealousy, so the situation is more volatile and interesting that it could be otherwise.

Cam and Reggie are best friends, but the money comes between them from time to time, too. Reggie is in charge of it and Cam wants to spend it. Whether Cam considers buying an Aston Martin with tricked out rims or paying for an aunt’s lap band surgery, there is frequently conflict between them about these things. But their strong love for each other overrides this, and at the end of the day, they are two very good guys who want to do the right thing and be smart.

They are surrounded by a colorful group that can be quite different from them, but each are interesting for their makeup. Sister M-Chuck (Erica Ash, MADtv) wants to lay women and spend money, irresponsible and along for the good time, and the guys include her willingly. Uncle Julius (Mike Epps, The Hangover) is also part of the clique, though sees less development in the pilot. Mouthy Cassie (Tichina Arnold, Everybody Hates Chris), Cam’s mom, is proud of her baby, and enjoys the lifestyle he buys her. Reggie’s wife, Missy (Teyonah Parris, Mad Men), isn’t happy being it Atlanta, no matter what their huge house looks like or how many luxuries Reggie throws at her. They are all ripe for further story.

SURVIVOR’S REMORSE is billed as a comedy, but that’s probably mostly because of its half hour running time. It is a comedy the way other pay-cable half hours shows are, in the vein of Entourage and Californication. There are laughs, but the show doesn’t seem to set out to deliver gags and one-liners. It’s more circumstance that come across as amusing, though still realistic, in their structure. It will run only six episodes in the first season, but hopefully will soon be filming more.

SURVIVOR’S REMORSE premieres this Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on Starz.