Elect THE POLITICIAN

Article first published as TV Review: THE POLITICIAN on Seat42F.

Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, the minds behind FOX’s former shows Glee and Scream Queens, have re-teamed for a new Netflix drama entitled THE POLITICIAN. Like their previous efforts, this one centers on young people who act in hyperreal ways, working hard towards single-minded goals with little regard for who they hurt. These kids act like unscrupulous adults, but the show doesn’t prove they aren’t, instead existing within the high stakes laid out by the protagonists, no tongue in cheek wink that the real world will make this all seem trivial in retrospect.

There is a particular style and tone to THE POLITICIAN. Murphy and Falchuk work with high production concepts in American Horror Story, Pose, and their other television series. But this one is a bit different. It’s more like a Wes Anderson flick than their usual work, down to the young, precocious male lead, characters standing stock still in specific places, and the occasional shot of a furniture description page. THE POLITICIAN’s characters aren’t as odd as those in an Anderson work, and it can sometimes take a viewer out of the story here. But overall, it’s mostly a quality work.

Ben Platt (Pitch Perfect) stars as Payton Hobart. Adopted by the ultra-wealthy Georgina (Gwyneth Paltrow, Avengers) and Keaton (Bob Balaban, Gosford Park), Payton feels less valued than his parents’ biological twins, Martin and Luther (Trevor and Trey Eason). Perhaps to make himself noticed, Payton makes it his mission in life to become president of the United States. His immediate focus: win the presidency of his student body. Which is easier said than done with pretty boy and popular kid River Barkley (David Corenswet, Moe & Jerryweather) standing in his way.

There are others involved, of course. Payton wants cancer patient Infinity Jackson (Zoey Deutch, Ringer) as his running mate to get the sympathy vote, not being aware of what Infinity’s Aunt Dusty (Jessica Lange, American Horror Story) is up to. River’s girlfriend, Astrid (Lucy Boynton, Gypsy), is a serious impediment, and Payton’s girlfriend, Alice (Julia Schlaepfer, Charlie Says), might be one, too. Payton’s advisors, McAfee (Laura Dreyfuss, Glee) and James (Theo Germaine, Adam), don’t always see eye to eye.

Yes, Payton has advisors. The election is treated almost as seriously as an adult campaign would be, and the stakes are just as high if Payton wants to achieve his dreams.

Platt is perfectly cast, playing a role so close to his Tony-winning turn in Evan Hanson. There’s even a dead guy and a crisis of conscience for him to play off of. The rest of the cast seem similarly well suited to their roles.

If I have one complaint about THE POLITICIAN, it’s that it seems very convoluted. There’s a lot going on, and circumstances change quickly with each new twist, of which there are many. Plenty of small moving parts could blow up and derail things at any time. However, other Murphy projects have been similarly dense and came out pretty well, so I think it’s best to have patience and wait. Besides, the character study of Payton seems rich on its own, at least from the first couple of episodes, and may be worth it even if the overall plot is less than satisfying, as has been the case on a couple of seasons of American Horror Story.

If you like Ryan Murphy and flair, you’ll probably like THE POLITICIAN. If you don’t like his other work, don’t expect anything too different here. Not that Murphy is one-note by any means, but he does what he does very well, and this is another variation on those themes.

THE POLITICIAN’s eight-episode first season is available now on Netflix.

Drive Around STUMPTOWN

Article first published as TV Review: STUMPTOWN on Seat42F.

Let’s get this out of the way immediately: broadcast network television does not need another detective show. I’m serious. Please stop. There are way, way, way too many already. I don’t promise not to raise related complaints below, but that’s the first statement that needs to be made here, even though I’m very tired of making it.

All right, with that being said, let’s take a look at the new ABC series STUMPTOWN. Dex Parios (The MCU’s Cobie Smulders) is a traumatized war veteran who splits her time between gambling away her military benefits, drinking, and taking care of her brother, Ansel (Cole Sibus, Spare Room), who has Down syndrome. Then, the daughter of her dead love goes missing, and the hard-headed grandmother (Tantoo Cardinal, Blackstone), also a casino owner, asks Dex to get the girl back in exchange for erasing some of Dex’s debt. Thus, Dex acquires a new hobby.

Smulders is excellent. She proved it as Robin Scherbatsky in How I Met Your Mother, and she has continued to kill it as Maria Hill in the Marvel movies. She does complexity well, and she can be a total badass in action scenes. She has both humor and heart, and deserves to be the lead in a hit show. I just wish it were a Maria Hill series instead of this. Dex herself is even an interesting character that exists in a fleshed out world. But we’ve seen her type before. A lot.

The cast of STUMPTOWN is, as usual these days, stocked with fine performers. Sibus is very good, as is Cardinal. New Girl’s Jake Johnson is Dex’s platonic (for now) friend Grey. Michael Ealy (Almost Human) is Detective Miles Hoffman, who is assigned to work the case of the missing girl for the official police department. Hoffman’s boss, Lieutenant Cosgrove, is played by Camryn Manheim from The Practice. Adrian Martinez (Focus) plays informant Tookie. I have no gripes with this ensemble.

The production also looks good. The lighting and design are a bit unique, embracing Portland as a setting instead of New York or Los Angeles. The action scenes are quick, not too gratuitous, and while they come often, there is care to fit them into the story. Creator Jason Richman (Detroit 1-8-7) certainly knows how to make a quality television show.

But where things begin to fall apart for me is the premise and several key elements. Only on television do the cops decide to work with someone from the private sector on a regular basis, and it’s become a tired cliché in series. Dex is much smarter and better at doing the job than Hoffman or Cosgrove, which doesn’t make a lot of sense. The love triangle with Hoffman and Grey is predictable and trite. Tookie is the expected comic relief. None of this transcends the bounds that other programs have put in place, nor seeks to be startlingly original.

STUMPTOWN is a charming, well-made series. But it’s also a procedural, and to be honest, this type of show has now become so common that it’s gone beyond boring and into solidly annoying. If the focus was on Dex’s PTSD and personal problems, it could make an interesting cable show. Instead, as per usual, it looks like that will be handled in bits and pieces while the A Plot will be a case-of-the-week, easily wrapped up at the end of an hour. You might as well binge one of the dozens of similar programs already out rather than start a new one.

For what it is, STUMPTOWN is good. Smulders et al, and we the viewers, just deserve something a lot better than this.

STUMPTOWN airs Wednesdays on ABC.

Tolman's EMERGENCE

Article first published as TV Review: EMERGENCE on Seat42F.

One of ABC’s newest shows is EMERGENCE. A not-so-slow burn mystery drama that is far less soapy than most of the network’s fare (not that there’s anything wrong with soap), it finds a smart sheriff risking everything, including her family, to save a little girl with no memory and strange powers. Or so she claims. Why did she show up on a beach where a plane had just crashed, and who is the secretive (possibly) government agency who cleaned up the site and want her?

Allison Tolman (Fargo) leads the cast as Jo Evans, the sheriff who finds young Piper (Alexa Swinton, Billions). Instantly drawn to the girl, Jo takes Piper, whom she names because Piper doesn’t even recall her moniker, home to meet Jo’s daughter, Mia (Ashley Aufderheide, The Slap), and father, Ed (Clancy Brown, Thor: Ragnarok and a long list of voice acting roles). As the authorities close in around them, Jo seeks help from recent ex and father of her daughter, Alex (Donald Faison, Scrubs), investigator Benny (Owain Yeoman, The Mentalist), and Officer Chris Minetto (Robert Bailey Jr., The Night Shift).

Tolman is fantastic, as one would expect if they’ve seen her in other shows. She has an ability to express complex emotions in ways that few can that feels totally naturally. She balances the duties and power of her job with her familial bonds and noble qualities very well. She alone is worth watching, even in a lesser show. Swinton is also impressive, and the rest hold their own alongside them.

As for the mystery, it’s intriguing. It feels a bit familiar, as with so many sci-fi attempts on broadcast television, most of which unfortunately fail quickly, often not due to a lack of quality. But it also feels fresh, with a specific story that hasn’t quite been told before, at least not in this exact way. As I like to say, it’s all been done, but it hasn’t necessarily been done the way you want to do it.

With fine actors and a decent concept, it falls to the execution to be the deciding factor. EMERGENCE is compelling and mostly well made. It’s easy to get hooked into it, and little about it feels cheesy. The tone and style are engrossing and done competently, and I enjoyed my viewing of it. I am very interested in tuning in for further installments.

One thing I do hope has a larger explanation in EMERGENCE is why Jo and her clan feel such immediate protectiveness of Piper. I totally get taking care of a helpless kid, but Jo is risking her own loved ones to save Piper, and no one seems to mind. It’s not a decision just anyone could make, with most putting their own family above the welfare of a stranger. Heroic, sure, but with grounded characters, it feels a little off. Unless one of Piper’s abilities is to inspire such devotion.

My other issue with the pilot is why is Jo so confident she can keep Piper hidden when the bad guys tracked her down so easily? Even with Piper removing the mysterious electronic ball from her head at the end of the episode, one would think the agency could still find her, especially with the family staying put. Shouldn’t Jo be on the run, not returning to her home?

I’m not saying the above are minor gripes, because I don’t think they are, but the rest of the hour is solid enough that I’m willing to overlook them or suspend belief for now. The first is easily corrected, and the second, while a glaring plot hole, is necessary for the premise set up. As long as EMERGENCE doesn’t make a habit of such things, one can somewhat forgive this one for now.

EMERGENCE airs Tuesdays on ABC.

PRODIGAL SON Sets

Article first published as TV Review: PRODIGAL SON on Seat42F.

This week, FOX launched the new drama series PRODIGAL SON. The titular child, actually a grown man, is a mentally unstable profiler of serial killers. Fired from the FBI in the opening sequence, he returns home. But rather than leave the business behind, he is recruited by the local cops to catch a copycat murderer. The slayer the copycat is copying is the PRODIGAL SON’s dad, who helps our hero expose the bad guy. But did genius daddy orchestrate the whole thing?

That all sounds convoluted, a mix of a bunch of other television shows, and it is. Part Silence of the Lambs, part Blacklist, part every crime procedural on the air, PRODIGAL SON puts in a bit more mythology and serial story than most case-of-the-week series, but the main focus will still be that easy criminal caught in sixty minutes or less. And the extra stuff layered in is weird, doesn’t entirely make sense, and seems over the top, at best.

PRODIGAL SON has a stellar cast. The lead is Tom Payne (The Walking Dead), playing Malcolm Bright, whose last name is exactly as on the nose as one would expect from the rest of the program. Daddy dearest, Dr. Martin Whitly, is Good Omens’ Michael Sheen. Rounding out the family is Bellamy Young (Scandal) as controlling mother Jessica and Halston Sage (The Orville) as reporter sister Ainsley. Lou Diamond Phillips (Longmire) is the cop whose life young Malcolm saved and who now is depending on the grown lad. Other law enforcement officers are played by lesser knowns Frank Harts (The Path), Aurora Perrineau (Jem and the Holograms), and Keiko Agena (Gilmore Girls). Michael Cerveris (Fringe) is wasted in a one-episode role, appearing only in the pilot.

Frankly, this cast is far too good for this show. Yes, many fine actors are staying with the small screen these days for high quality programs, but PRODIGAL SON does not qualify. While there might be some interesting concept buried in this that could be teased out were it on FX or AMC or Netflix, the mix of unbelievability and caricature render it less than the some of its parts. Payne and Sheen, especially, are playing crazy wonderfully. But they’re practically begging for a complex story that is worthy of their performances.

We’ve seen cops. We’ve seen good guys working with the bad. Several very popular current and past shows fit into the category. If you’re going to go down that road again, you’d better have a very good reason for doing so. Or at least a solid story. This series has neither.

I get what FOX is doing here. The broadcast networks are slowly dying and they’re trying to hold onto their audience by thinking short-term. Crime procedurals still make money, and adding the serial element could possibly make it binge-worthy when it hits a streaming service. It sounds good in theory, even though it’s been seen to fail over and over again when not going enough into the serial.

If that were the only thing PRODIGAL SON had wrong with it, the cast alone might be enough to let the flaws be overlooked. But the flimsy story-telling full of connections that shouldn’t be and characters that feel one-note seals the deal that this is one to skip. Might it garner enough of an audience to run for half a dozen seasons? Sure, I’ve seen worse shows make it. But will it be a beloved classic folks remember and want to re-watch? Unless it changes significantly, definitely not.

My recommendation is to not tune in. Let PRODIGAL SON die quickly and release the performers to go onto better things. Most of them will bounce back with something better.

PRODIGAL SON airs Mondays on FOX.

FX Bakes a CAKE

Article first published as TV Review: CAKE on Seat42F.

It’s hard to describe the new FXX show CAKE. It’s a series of shorts made by different people that the comedy network has edited into a half hour television show. Yes, that describes it, but not well enough to tell you what it is. It’s generally a comedy, but some is live action and some is animated. Some dialogue spoken and some is sung. Some bits are very short, and some are pretty long. It’s a conglomeration of a lot of things rolled into one.

I guess the best way to explain what you’re going to get is for me to ask you to imagine something. Say Saturday Night Live, Portlandia, a popular Snapchat-er, Adult Swim, and a YouTube star all made a single, stand-alone segment each, and then somebody merged all these disparate things together. That’s what CAKE is. Eclectic, with different approaches, but hopefully all will be worth watching.

Because there is not a consistent producer or writing team, there isn’t a consistent feel to the show. The first episode, titled “Cache Flow,” seems to have a similar level of quality from bit to bit, and that level is relatively high, but it will be hard to maintain that over time. Things aren’t connected, but did seem to, for lack of a better word, flow from one segment to the next. The longest story was broken up itself by smaller offerings.

That all may sound like criticism, but it is not intended to be negative. CAKE does something interesting and pretty unique, showcasing shorts by different creators in a single program. FXX has scoured the interwebs and put together a showcase of creative works that would have trouble finding a television home elsewhere. It lets viewers sample programs that aren’t traditional, but are still worthy of one’s time. I especially enjoyed the opener of “Cache Flow,” funny and thought-provoking, relatable but still fresh.

This reminds me of award-winning and nominated shorts. Most people ignore them, but when one gets the chance to sit down and watch a few, they can be quite mesmerizing. It’s about time a network made such things more accessible to a mainstream audience.

The official line seems to be that some stand-out bits may become full-length running programs on the network. That would be a cool thing, using CAKE as an incubator to test writers and producers, rewarding those that catch on more than others. But if that never happens for any of the segments, it’s still a worthwhile attempt, and an interesting piece to add to the lineup.

Much of what is in “Cache Flow” is from people unknown to me, and likely to most viewers. There are new and unheard voices represented. But one part of this pilot did have several recognizable actresses – Collette Wolfe (You’re the Worst), Suzanne Cryer (Silicon Valley), and Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll) – so was likely made by more experienced professionals.

This mix of untested and established talent could be a problem, except that care has definitely been taken to make sure different bits feel at least a little bit tonally similar. CAKE avoids being jarring as it jumps around, a credit to a show that could easily be more disjointed. Instead, while the parts do feel different, there almost is a whole feeling to the episode.

I really wish I had more than one installment to view to know if CAKE is going to be worth watching. But the first one is, so why not give it a chance? After all, you’re not going to get this from any other network. In my opinion, television could use more such experiments, and I’m certainly curious to see if this one catches on.

CAKE premieres tomorrow at 10:30 PM ET on FXX.

A Camp-y AMERICAN HORROR STORY

Article first published as TV Review: AMERICAN HORROR STORY 1984 on Seat42F.

Anew season of AMERICAN HORROR STORY has started! This one is subtitled 1984 and takes place at a lakeside camp near Los Angeles in the summer of that year. Orwell, it isn’t, with a creepy massacre back story and a violent criminal who is breaking into homes in the city. Which characters will make it out alive?

First it must be said, as we’ve come to expect from AHS, the visual look is amazing. From sets to costumes to hairstyles to props, each are meticulously detailed to be of the era. Actually, more importantly, it looks as if from a movie from that era. The highly stylized, a bit more heightened that reality, is a hallmark of every season of the series, and that continues through this one. Even the lighting and film end up looking like this was made a few decades ago, albeit with a sharp picture. This isn’t novel for AMERICAN HORROR STORY, but it’s important to keep up the quality nine seasons in.

The cast is a mix between familiar faces and new ones. Emma Roberts (AHS: Coven) returns as lead Brooke Thompson. A departure from Roberts’ normal bitchy role, Brooke is timid and agreeable. Attacked in her apartment, Brooke allows herself to be persuaded by new bud Montana Duke (Billie Lourd, AHS: Cult) to flee the area and become a camp counselor, despite being hesitant to miss college classes she’s signed up for. The girls are joined by athlete Chet (Gus Kenworthy, Sharknado 5), actor Xavier (Cody Fern, American Crime Story: Versace), and drug supplier Ray (DeRon Horton, Dear White People).

The four (sans Brooke) make up an established group of friends that welcome her in. One assumes that these will be the primary leads, those hunted by the killer or killers this season. Older staff members like camp owner Margaret Booth (Leslie Grossman, AHS: Cult), doctor Rita (Angelica Ross, Pose), and creep Trevor (Matthew Morrison, Glee) seem likely to stay on the fringes. This makes sense for the 80s genre, though other seasons of AMERICAN HORROR STORY have tended to split the age groups. For instance, Coven had a group of young witches, but also meaty material for the older characters. That’s part of what seems to set 1984 apart.

Setting itself apart is likely a good idea with franchise veterans Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters (mostly) sitting things out. Instead of wondering what part they should be playing and measuring any other performer against them, it’s easy to settle in with this new group. AMERICAN HORROR STORY: 1984 is a bit reminiscent of Scream Queens, another Ryan Murphy project starring Roberts. However, Scream Queens was campy and this is camp the noun, not the adjective. It’s a bit odd to see AHS in that light, but it works. As usual, there is plenty of blood and plenty of mystery.

One does wonder where 1984 will go besides slasher flick, as most seasons of the program have bent a couple large themes. Rumors have swirled that aliens might come into the mix. Ghosts also seem a reasonable guess. But I wonder at the specific year, which works because of the Olympics element of the story, but also calls to mind a famous dystopian novel. I’m hoping for a bit of Orwell slipped in here somewhere. If does not, I kind of think the title should have been something else.

The bottom line, though, is that AMERICAN HORROR STORY hasn’t missed a step with 1984, and we have a season of chills and thrills awaiting us. I am very much looking forward to it.

AMERICAN HORROR STORY: 1984 airs Wednesdays on FX.

Entirely (UN)BELIEVABLE

Article first published as TV Review: UNBELIEVABLE at Seat42F.

Warning: The following contains spoilers from the first two episodes of the series.

Recently, Netflix launched an 8-episode miniseries titled UNBELIEVABLE. Based on a true story, it tells the tale of multiple rapes that occurred a few short years ago. Taking the perspective of both the investigator and victim, it’s a slow-burn drama that dwells on the emotions involved and how complex such situations can be. It’s a deeply affecting series, and one that should help those who have been lucky enough to avoid such experiences personally better understand what can happen.

Episode one focuses almost solely on Marie (Kaitlyn Dever, Justified), a young teen transitioning out of foster care. A man comes into her apartment at night, ties her up with her own shoelaces, and does what he wants to her. Or so she says. After repeated interrogation, her story begins to fall apart, and she tells the police that she made the whole thing up. But did she?

There have been accusations lobbied against rape victims for failing to come forward or not being consistent in their stories. Marie shows us just how that can happen. A woman who has been through a traumatic experience is forced to relive it again and again, questioned until she starts to doubt her own memories, and made to feel like she’s done something wrong. Under that kind of pressure, the best of us may crack, and most of us would avoid going through it if we could. It’s such a monumental task she’s faced with, through no fault of her own, that one cannot blame her when she fails to live up to ideals.

Frustratingly, that means Marie becomes a pariah and the man gets away with it. This is not justice, nor a happy ending. This is dark, raw, and painful. Episode two picks up a short time later. Karen Duvall (Merritt Wever, Nurse Jackie) is looking into the rape of Amber (Danielle Macdonald, Patt Cake$). At the same time, Grace Rasmussen (Toni Collette, United States of Tara) works her own case. Unbeknownst to them, they are likely hunting the same criminal, and even more elusive is that it’s probably the same person that assaulted Marie.

Some of the things above are assumptions at this point, as I haven’t watched all eight installments yet, but they seem pretty clear. UNBELIEVABLE isn’t so much a mystery as it is an examination of trauma and realistic heroism while the procedures of the law take an agonizingly slow time to work themselves through. It’s not your typical crime series, but one welcome on my screen.

Dever is fantastic, as always. So are Wever, Collette, and Macdonald, as well as fellow cast members Elizabeth Marvel (House of Cards), Brent Sexton (The Killing), and Bridget Everett (Camping), among others. Kudos to whoever assembled some of the finest performers who aren’t yet household names, though a couple are well on their way. Even as the pace sometimes seems to crawl along, it’s easy to get sucked into the Emmy-deserving performances.

If I had to compare UNBELIEVABLE to another series I’d say it’s most like The Killing, though not nearly as bleak or obtuse. There is light at the end of the tunnel, if you’re at all familiar with the true story (or television formulas). Yet, it has a similar speed, letting characters breathe more than a little. The focus is on sympathetic people, not villains, so that helps, too. Whatever you think of how that show went on, the first season was fantastic, and so is this.

In fact, I’d go so far as to call UNBELIEVABLE must-see. Even were it not important to the current societal problems, it’s an acting tour de force. For either of those reasons and more, check it out, currently streaming in its entirety on Netflix.

Amazon Goes to the CARNIVAL

Article first published as CARNIVAL ROW Review on Seat42F.

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for the pilot, but only the pilot.

With Game of Thrones over, a slew of fantasy shows will surely be trying to capture that audience. Amazon’s entry into the race is CARNIVAL ROW, a dark drama that merges magic and the real world into a steampunk, war-torn, fictional version of Britain. While Game of Thrones, it is not, CARNIVAL ROW does have some intriguing elements.

The story begins with fae Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne, Suicide Squad) fleeing her home. With her brethren strung up or shot down around her, she somehow dodges bullets and barely makes it to a sailing ship off the coast. But that is only the beginning of her troubles as she makes her way to the heart of the Burge, a stand-in for London, England.

The other lead is Vignette’s missing lover whom she assumes dead, human Rycroft “Philo” Philostrate (Orlando Bloom, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings). Philo is working as an inspector for the local constabulary, trying to find whoever is beating up the fairy folk refugees, also called Pix. Philo, having fought alongside them in the war with the mysterious Pact, feels respect and decency towards the fairies who have had to flee their home, which is not a sentiment shared by all of his kinfolk.

The political and racial themes are many and central. In a city populated mostly by humans, but with a decent among of fairies and Pucks, the tensions are rife. This should be familiar territory for showrunner Rene Echevarria, one of the writers for former series Star Trek: Deep Space 9, who is used to handling such stories. The relationships between the races at large and the individuals specifically are complex and dense, something only glimpsed at as the show begins, and with plenty of room to delve deeper. They feel familiar to the real world, but also appear to be pretty solidly laid out in their fictional version.

Design is one of the strongest elements of the series, aside from a small handful of weak spots in the CGI. It’s easy to see the influence of Guillermo del Toro, who was involved in the development, but also is more grounded than some of his work. The steampunk sensibility is in vogue, rightly so, but the production also has enough originality in the details to avoid just ripping off an existing style. Mixing something akin to magic into this sensibility is pleasing and feels natural.

Bloom is excellent, as one might expect, and Delevingne is coming along as an actress, not quite matching his level, but close enough for a starting point. I expect she’ll improve the series progresses, and she does project a tone that fits the world well. They are joined by Jared Harris (Mad Men), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Tamzin Merchant (The Tudors), David Gyasi (Interstellar), Simon McBurney (The Borgias), Andrew Gower (Outlander), and many lesser known, but talented, performers. I have no complaints about the cast, many of whom have fine experience in genre programs.

Great production design, a good cast, and thorough world building are all terrific elements to have, but don’t guarantee an overall success. CARNIVAL ROW feels very near to a great series, but there’s something just a little off to keep it from getting up to that top tier. It’s hard to put a finger on just why that is. Perhaps it’s a little slow, and isn’t quite as compelling as it needs to be to pull that off. Or maybe it’s just a hair darker than necessary. It’s fine, to be sure, but lacking some ineffable quality at the moment. It may gain this in time, but just doesn’t quite have it yet. It’s good enough to give it a chance, but I’m not sure at present if it’ll be worth seeing through.

To judge for yourself, check out all eight episodes of CARNIVAL ROW, now available on Amazon Prime.

A Lighter DARK CRYSTAL

Article first published as THE DARK CRYSTAL AGE OF RESISTANCE Review on Seat42F.

Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal film has quite a cult following. Many, many fans love the movie, and have watched it dozens of times a piece. Growing up, while I found it equal parts disturbing and boring, I certainly had more than my share of peers who told me I was wrong. And whether you like the story or not, there’s certainly plenty to appreciate in the sheer amount of work that goes into such a fully-realized puppet-driven world.

THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE is better than the movie. That is an opinion, of course, so agree or not, that is your choice. There are several things that stand out to me in forming this opinion.

One, the settings are so much richer and more beautiful. The original was post-apocalyptic, and that is a valid choice for the story being told. By setting AGE OF RESISTANCE as a prequel, the creators get to show us the beauty of Thra in its prime, and it is breath-taking. There are several distinct zones of habitat, each more impressive than the last. Setting plot aside, it has an Avatar-esque quality of something never seen before, and that’s worth watching.

Two, the voice cast is amazing. With no offense to the originals intended, as they did a fine job with their task, big talents lined up to be part of such a storied franchise. Returning and new characters alike boast big names along the lines of Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter), Sigourney Weaver (Alien), Eddie Izzard (Ocean’s Twelve), Helena Bonham Carter (Les Miserables), Caitriona Balfe (Outlander), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones), Natalie Dormer (um, Game of Thrones), Nathalie Emmanuel (yet another Game of Thrones), Toby Jones (Captain America), Theo James (Divergent), Taron Egerton (Rocketman), Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Belle), Awkwafina (Crazy Rich Asians), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Simon Pegg (Shawn of the Dead), Benedict Wong (Doctor Strange), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Andy Samberg (Brooklyn 99), Bill Hader (Barry), and Mark Hamill (Star Wars). And that’s not even a complete list.

Third, it feels like a fully realized story. It’s clear the writers have firm direction, partly because we already know the ending. But even if we didn’t, it’s clear this is well thought out, carefully crafted with rules that the series sticks to and a sense that it knows what it’s trying to do.

That is a bit of a downside, as well. After all, while would-be hero Gelflings strike out on quests to save their people from the ruling Skeksis, it’s well known that they will fail. The best these main characters that viewers are going to care about can hope for is noble martyrdom. The movie sets up only failure, and everything good in this place should be gone by the end of AGE OF RESISTANCE.IN ITThat isn’t an argument against watching DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE. After all, everyone knew the Titanic sank, and yet they flocked to the theatres to see the film of the same name. There’s a bit of a dread hanging over the story here, too, but it’s also hard to keep that in mind when it’s so easy to root for the Gelflings.

AGE OF RESISTANCE hasn’t won me over and made me a DARK CRYSTAL fan… yet. But by the time I finish it, it just might. It may take all ten installments to decide if the project was worth it, but it definitely expounds upon the universe in new and interesting ways. Had this come before the film, I’d probably have been more invested in the original follow-up. But the Star Wars prequels, this is not, and if you have even a slight bit of curiosity, I recommend checking it out.

THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE is streaming on Netflix now.

GOD-Like

Article first published as TV Review: ON BECOMING A GOOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA on Seat42F.

This review contains spoilers for the pilot only.

SHOWTIME’s latest series is ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA. Set near Orlando in the early 1990s, the series follows a widow whose husband invested heavily in a pyramid scheme, leaving her deeply in debt and desperate to support herself and baby. Can she navigate manipulative individuals and become the most conniving of them all? Or can she escape this life and find normalcy?

ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA feels very familiar to those of us who have been around a few decades. Amway and other multi-level marketing companies had a big boom awhile back, and some are still around today. There’s also something very specific about the place and time, perhaps more recognizable from pop culture and shared references than reality itself.

Which does not mean the show is a parody of anything. That’s what it might seem at first glance, but it’s far too nuanced, layered, and relatable to dismiss it as just that. The parts referenced above are the comedy part of the premise, but there’s also a deep infusion of drama present.

Chief among the driving emotion is protagonist, Krystal Stubbs (Kirsten Dunst, Fargo, Bring It On). Krystal is grief-stricken and furious at her husband, Travis (Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies), in almost equal parts. This is a man she really loved, but who committed terrible betrayals. This dichotomy is present in Krystal’s interactions with others, bouncing back and forth between being a compassionate friend to co-worker Ernie (Mel Rodriguez, Last Man On Earth), and being a con woman trying to get people to support her financially. She does both very well.

Krystal isn’t Walter White, profiting off the misfortune of others without caring who she hurts. She does show potential signs of such a persona, sure, but we see her desperation as a driving factor that is at times tempered by other motivations. Can we truly villainize someone who has been put in such a bad situation and just needs to be able to afford food and shelter again?

Other characters are less likeable. While the man who duped Travis, Cody (Theodore Pellerin, Genesis), is charming, he’s also fully concerned about himself, only being generous when it benefits him. But is this the folly of youth, achieving something and trying hard not to lose it, allowing oneself to be blinded to those around them because they lack experience? Leader of the whole scheme, Obie Gabeau II (Ted Levine, Monk), seems in a similar vein, hijacking a funeral to protect his business interests, sans the excuses.

But then we’ve got Ernie and his wife, Bets (sing-songwriter Beth Ditto), seemingly sweet and caring neighbors. They aren’t the two-dimensional model of that, despite their naivety; Ernie has already shown hints of mental issues at least partially sparked by an unreasonable boss (Usman Ally, Veep) that will likely pay off down the road. But they do balance the darker aspects of the show.

Heck, even Travis isn’t easy to write off. Yes, he should have communicated with his wife more and not gambled so much of their life away. And yet, the clips of Obie’s tapes that we hear provide insight to how an otherwise reasonable man could be led astray, convinced that what he was doing would pay off big for his family. Travis thinks he’s doing the right thing, and as wrong as he is, his intentions are not bad.

Watching the next few episodes, this is definitely a long-arcing series. So much of what the characters are going through will take quite awhile to play out, and there’s no clear end. Which isn’t an issue, because the characters are complex and interesting, and of course, very well-acted. The show is funny and moving, and it makes a viewer think and consider other perspectives. Yet, it can be taken at face value as entertaining, too, so it doesn’t make you feel like you have to think too hard, even if you’ll be doing so anyway.

ON BECOMING A GOD IN CENTRAL FLORIDA is excellent. I hope you give it a chance. It is currently airing Sunday evenings on Showtime.