Man oh man is this freaking good. Richard Gadd is immensely impressive for writing and starring in this true story based on his own life, not to mention how this serves as an example of taking power back over your trauma. It's not only great for the story surrounding its development, but the final product is one of the most well-crafted shows we've gotten this year. The writing is sharp, the pacing is perfect in the way that it reveals things as you need to know them and not too soon or too late, the characters are filled to the brim with complexity and layers, and all around form an editing and production standpoint this thing rocks. It has genuinely creepy and tension-filled moments that are expertly crafted and the show keeps you so intrigued from start to finish. Gadd's performance is amazing, and Jessica Gunning is STELLAR. Might just be the best performance of the year so far?? Baby Reindeer is a show that takes the stalker idea and turns it into something so much more that that and something so unique. It has some really heavy stuff and some very hard to watch and difficult scenes, but I commend it for not backing down and highlighting real life horrors as they are and as things that we need to be aware of. A fantastic character exploration and overall just so intriguing, real, and powerful.
A very interesting show that does a smart thing and focuses on the arc of the lead detective just as much as it does the true crime. It turns into more than just a dramatic retelling of a true crime story and also becomes a look at faith and religion both in broader strokes and in an intimate way through Detective Jeb's crisis of faith. I am not Mormon and in no way can speak to the historical events or religious elements of Mormonism the show touches on, so I can only go off of what the show gives me. And based off that I found the exploration and deconstruction of certain elements pretty fascinating. I think it does get a bit close to becoming too much of a direct criticism of religion and Mormonism at times, but from my outsiders perspective I thought that in the end it ultimately provides a balanced look and never becomes a full on criticism. The show is also able to maintain a great atmosphere throughout with plenty of good tension. Garfield is fantastic as you would expect, and I thought every performance was very good. Gil Birmingham was so enjoyable and a big standout for me, I loved every second of his character. It's not a perfect show and the pacing is a little bit weird at times. I think that the decision to frame a lot of the show through flashbacks as Jeb investigates and discovers more and more details of what happened is a smart one, as it allows you to feel the full effect of his internal struggle and arc in real time. But at the same time the balance between the present time and the flashbacks felt a bit off at times, and the decision to place things out of order in some episodes was a weird one that made the show feel a bit all over the place for a while. So maybe not perfectly executed, but nonetheless a very good and interesting miniseries.
Shōgun is a type of show that just delivers across the board. From a technical standpoint, to the performances, to the writing and characters, everything is so well done. You don't often get shows this well-written and coupled with dynamic characters, fascinating relationships, an incredibly immersive and transportive atmosphere, and full of emotions, tension, and intrigue. I especially appreciate that it never loses its focus and doesn't fall into the temptation of turning it into a big action spectacle. The finale displays one of the most impressive uses of restraint that I have seen, choosing to give a dialogue-focused ending that focuses on the characters, which is what this show is all about. Transitioning to an action-heavy finale or big final battle would not have been true to the writing or the characters. We get the satisfying payoffs the show had been hinting to the entire time, while not sacrificing the writing, characters, or tone. The penultimate episode is also one of the best single episodes of TV in recent memory, one driven by the finale of a phenomenal character and arc, and powered by an incredible performance by Anna Sawai. She is a standout to me, but it should not be understated how insanely good every performance is. Sawai, Hiroyuki Sanada, Cosmo Jarvis, and Tadanobu Asano all deserve praise, as do the rest of the supporting cast. This show should be nominated for Emmys in every technical category too. Only reason I'm not slapping this with a perfect score at this moment is that I feel as if there would be even more to appreciate on a second watch. The writing and attention to detail is so rich and dense that I know there are likely things I have missed and that I would pick up on with a rewatch. That's not really a criticism, but it just feels right to give my experience with it room to grow.
I don't think I would change anything about this season of TV. Maybe the emotions in the end could have landed a bit harder and maybe Lucy and Maximus' romance felt a little forced, but those are slight criticisms. For the most part those elements work well enough and if you ask me, everything else in here is just about perfect.
The script is clever, well-written, and pays attention to detail. The balance of characters and the pacing is flawless. The story flows naturally as characters meet, separate, meet again later, meet other characters, etc. It's like a spiderweb of connections that is perfectly constructed, all the while moving towards an endpoint where everything comes together. Little tricks to make things feel connected work really well too, like the use of Dogmeat. The use of the landscape and world also help build out the story and atmosphere wonderfully. It's just such a satisfying and fun script through and through. Out of all the main four story elements and arcs, I did not find any of them to be boring or like a waste of time. Often when shows contain multiple different arcs with different characters and locations, there are one or two that are less enjoyable than the rest and whenever you switch to that part of the show you're just waiting to get back to the other parts. But with Fallout, I was excited to see all of the arcs and what would happen next, so every time we jumped from one to another it was exciting. A bit predictable at times perhaps with some story and character elements, but executed wonderfully nonetheless and still has enough surprises with great payoff that makes this feel like a contained story while also leaving enough to be excited about for a second season.
The performances across the board are also fantastic and everybody does exactly what they need to do, embodying their characters perfectly. Each character has so much life and personality and are all unique from one another, which makes the various combinations of characters and interactions so much fun. Ella Purnell is so charming and expressive, Aaron Moten is perfectly boyish and layered, even Moisés Arias is killing it and the supporting cast throughout the world is perfect. But Walton Goggins above all else proves that he is a phenomenal talent. His character is so well written, and he has a big task of playing essentially two different characters and then finding the middle ground between them as the show progresses, and he knocks it out of the park. Cooper and The Ghoul feel like two different people thanks to Goggins. Yet, by the time we get to the end you see 100% of Cooper and 100% of The Ghoul at the same time. The character becomes both of his selves, with not one taking away from the other. It's like two identities merging and coming forth into a new person that is the perfect summation of the two. The writing made that arc possible, and Goggins made it a reality. It cannot be overemphasized how well-written and well-performed this character of is, definitely my favorite part of the show which is saying a lot.
All-in-all, this show is just such a good time. Everything I have said makes it incredibly impressive, but it is also just an absolute blast from start to finish with sky-high entertainment value. The visuals, action, character dynamics, humor, soundtrack, art direction, and more all blend wonderfully and create such a fun experience. The tone is uniquely balanced and feels like something you could only get from Fallout, and the blending of genres is really impressive.
I went into this very hesitant. Video game adaptation have historically not been good for the most part, and from the images and marketing I did not have high hopes. When Amazon decided to drop the entire season at once I figured they knew it was a disaster and just wanted to get it out there and over with quick. I am so thrilled that none of that was true. This show absolutely pops. As someone who is a fan of Fallout but not a diehard (I have only played Fallout 4 and loved it), I don't think I could've had a better time with this show. Didn't want it to end and can't wait for more.
Without a doubt one of the best episodes of TV so far this year. Anna Sawai, you deserve an Emmy.
I liked it. Didn't absolutely love it, but I liked it. The acting is pretty good across the board with a couple of standouts, the concept is interesting, and the ideas explored are pretty good. The show takes a bit of a turn halfway through as things start to get answered, and I found that shift to be just a little bumpy. I liked the mystery and intrigue in the first half, and I liked the moral dilemmas, theoretical questions, and interesting themes explored in the second half even more, but things felt just a little anticlimactic in the end and the pacing wasn't the best at times. Some characters go away for a while only to come back later, and emotional elements fall pretty flat because they don't endear you to the characters quite enough. With all that said, I still enjoy what this show is doing and plan to come back for more. Some definitely intriguing ideas, questions, and concepts are explored and I enjoyed these aspects of the show more than anything. D&D have historically shown that they know how to adapt existing material to the TV well, and they do that again here for the most part.
Didn't like it quite as much as the first season and some elements within the pacing are a bit off, but overall still FANTASTIC comic book TV across the board. Great characters full of complexity and intrigue, exciting and mature action/violence, strong emotions, relationships that feel real and complex, and great writing full of strong and interesting themes. My only major complaint is the mid-season break, which really killed the momentum. Would love to just go week to week next season without a break halfway through.
Could take it or leave it. It has its moments that surprised me, but for the most part things never really took off with this show and it feels like a pretty big dud compared to other Star Wars animated series. The characters aren't as well written and the show doesn't do enough to make you feel attached to them. Watchable enough to get through the two seasons as a Star Wars fan but never particularly liked it.
Might not reach the peaks that The Clone Wars show reached, but dare I say this is more consistently great across the board? I was hesitant going in, but by the time I finished watching this show I couldn't help but miss it immediately. I think it has some of the best character development in the entire franchise, and some of the most emotionally impactful moments within its final season in all of Star Wars. This show gives us a look at new characters and stories from an era of Star Wars that is ripe for interesting characters and ideas. It capitalizes on its potential and delivers some fantastic arcs throughout its 4-season run, full of expanding lore, complex arcs and relationships, well-written stories, and most of all strong characters that you latch onto.
This show has become a weird one to rate, because while I don't think the quality has gone down at all from a production or performance standpoint and thus this is still one of the best crafted shows I've seen, my interest seems to be going down. It was a harsh transition to the new actors in this third season. I don't think anyone is miscast, I think the performances are spectacular and really show a maturing while also now bringing in more central roles for characters who are coming of age, but it was still a harsh transition after falling in love with the performances of the first two seasons. I also just found so many of the episodes pretty boring in here, and that's probably just due to the novelty wearing off and things feeling very monogamous with not enough new to keep me engaged. I had a hard time finishing this season. Whenever I had some spare time I would think about watching another episode and I just never really wanted to watch any more. There are some big standouts though, particularly episode 7 which may just be my favorite episode of the entire series to this point. But it's just buried in between so many other episodes that I didn't connect with or engage with beyond the phenomenal production. IDK, I just seem to have lost interest on a personal level. Still a good show but one that I will probably take a break from and perhaps revisit later if I feel the desire to again.
As someone who remembers loving the movie when it came out several years ago, I was interesting in checking this out and am very glad I did. It's just pure entertainment value and I had an incredibly fun time watching it, perhaps the most pure fun I've had watching a TV show in recent memory. This is in pretty much the exact style you would expect if you've seen the movie and/or are familiar with Guy Ritchie. Even with other directors in the show, Ritchie's distinct style is felt throughout and gives the show a standout voice. It is so incredibly not subtle and exaggerated with its dialogue, story, characters, etc, but all done with unwavering commitment to the style. And as a major fan of that sort of style, this was an absolute blast for me. Like I said, just pure entertainment at its best. I could watch so much of this.
It's fine as far as these things go but probably could have been a lot better. I was still interested enough to come back for 10 episodes every week, so I think that says a lot. It offers some new perspectives to events I've either seen or known about as a football fan, but a lot of just retelling stuff I already knew, and most football fans will already know. The Patriots were truly a dynasty and the show captures that pretty well.
This show has started to become repetitive and a bit boring for me. I’ve found it hard to get through this season with not much drawing me back in and have been losing interest. But this right here is probably my favorite episode of the entire series up to this point. Incredible, incredible episode of television.
As a whole, Sex Education is pretty good but didn't wrap up in the most satisfying or best of ways and while I did enjoy it enough to want to finish the series, it also wasn't always my type of show.
Season 2 of The Crown is still very good, but can't reach the heights of season 1 for me. Admittedly, the lack of John Lithgow was always going to do that, but I still feel as if the show didn't do a whole lot to keep things fresh and interesting after the novelty of the first season wore off. Still, the performances remain incredible and the look of the show is just as fantastic. This season did do a lot more for Philip as a character which was done really well and was maybe the most enjoyable aspect. Season 1 overall may have had more intriguing stories and events, but this is still very good.
The Crown feels like it's going to be a show in which I fall in love with the performances, writing, camerawork, visuals, and technical aspects of a little more than I fall in love with the storytelling, themes, etc. And that is to be somewhat expected from a show like this. They can either play things safe and try to make this as historically accurate as possible (in which case there's less room for original creative ideas in terms of storytelling and character arcs), or they can diverge from fact and play around with fiction, which allows for more creative liberty but leaves viewers with feelings of "did it really happen this way?" I'm in no position to know whether or not this show portrays its events with historical accuracy, so I'm really just here for the absolute delight that is the performances and the technical aspects. It's a beautiful show to look at in terms of production and costume design, as well as cinematography. And virtually every single performance is phenomenal. Claire Foy is incredible in the central role and completely disappears and seems to embody Elizabeth, Matt Smith is perfect, Vanessa Kirby is perfect, and all of the supporting players are so good. All of these performances immerse you in the setting as much as anything else, despite many of these actors being big names and very recognizable. But far and away my favorite part of this season is John Lithgow. This has to be one of the best television performances ever, or at least it is one of my personal favorites. Lithgow is great in everything he touches, but this feels defining. He's magnificent. This show may have a ceiling on it for me just by nature of what it is, but there is still enough intrigue and enjoyment from watching these events from this time and from these perspectives (even if I have no idea how accurate they are) to keep things entertaining. And with the technical aspects adding a lot and the performances doing so much to keep you craving for more, this first season is great.
For the most part, this is an enjoyable adaptation of the book that feels genuine to the characters and story. I was a massive fan of the Percy Jackson books as a kid and it's fun being able to dive back into that world today as an adult. The first couple of episodes really sold me on the show and while I don't think the rest of the adventure ever lived up to the excitement and intrigue promised in the beginning, I still had an excited anticipation each week to watch the latest episode all the way through to the end, although I bet a lot of that was due to my history with and love for the books. At the end of the day this opening season didn't live up to the expectations I had after the first couple of episodes and as a whole I think this was decent at best, but I'm still happy to have this IP back and will be looking forward to watching more.
Seth McFarlane just knows what he's doing I guess because who would have thought a Ted prequel show would have been such a hit in 2024? Some genuinely really good comedy and I just love that they frame this as a sitcom, it works so well in that regard. It has its subpar moments and episodes, but this had me laughing a lot and was a really enjoyable easy watch.
Echo does a few refreshing things that no other MCU show has done regarding the maturity and violence (they never fully capitalize on the opportunity, but it's still nice to see them mature up a little bit). The action is also in general really nice with good choreography, long takes, wide shots, good sound design, and even some creativity using the environment in some instances. Vincent D'Onofrio is still fantastic as Kingpin and for the majority of the show he is written well. Alaqua Cox has also solidly become the character of Echo now and she serves the role nicely. The supporting cast does a good job as well. And of course it was great to see Charlie Cox's Daredevil again, however brief. It's a wonder, then, that the show isn't very good. The balance in the story is just never there. We get an exploration of Maya's heritage and ancestral background that serves as an origin for her powers, mixed in with a family drama, mixed in with her conflict with Kingpin, and it never struck the right balance. And speaking of her powers, I was so disappointed when it was revealed that she has some sort of cosmic origin and powerset. I have no idea if it is comic accurate, but the marketing for this show promised a grounded and gritty street-level comic book show and everything to do with her powers takes so much away from that. The grounded feel is there at times, but sometimes it's not and when it's not the show falls very, very flat. The pacing is also bad... again. The first half of the first episode is a glorified recap which starts things off weird, then the show finds its footing for a little bit in the middle, and the finale is (shocker) extremely rushed. The finale this time around was just as poor as most other MCU shows. Kingpin's finale is laughable, Maya's arc with her powers comes off as silly, and the entire thing just falls flat on its face. But the biggest issue with the show is that it just doesn't earn its place. It never interests enough to feel as if a show centered on the character is warranted, other than to flesh her out so that we will perhaps care about her a little more for when she inevitably appears later on. Has some good aspects and the potential to be better, but falls very flat. The MCU puts out another disappointing series.
For a while there I was pleasantly surprised by the show, which had improved on all levels from the first season in terms of animation, intriguing stories with fun character pairings, good scripts, attention to detail, and characters that felt understood. But then the final episode happened and left the season on a gigantic dud. Characters regressed, the story felt forced, and it's just not as fun to watch extremely overpowered characters as Marvel thinks it is. I still appreciate the several entertaining and well-constructed episodes that came before the finale, as well as the really great animation and visuals throughout, but how they ended the season is just a spitting image of where I do not want the MCU or comic book movies to go.
A bit inconsistent in terms of episodes, but overall this is another good season of the show. It just knows how to deliver entertainment value and such clever stories while maintaining its own unique voice. Good character work for both Rick and Morty this season as well, and the finale capped things off with maybe the best episode of the season.
Not good aside from some Justin Long moments.
Loki is just carrying the MCU on its back with this second season. This is what you get when you let a show runner have a clear vision and leave them the space to execute that vision, and with the entire creative team and actors bringing it their all. This season looks great, has an intriguing story that makes you want to keep coming back, and provides one of the single best episodes of comic book television history in its finale. Loki is so clearly now one of the most well-developed characters in the entirety of the MCU and this was such a PERFECT ending to his arc. So in love with where they took things by the end, I was blown away.
10/10. Peak. This might be one of the best comic book TV finales or even episodes ever. Maybe this is recency bias but I don’t really care, this straight up floored me. Incredible.
This was such a treat. Like, it would have been easy to make a simple and mediocre spin-off to The Boys since fans would definitely watch it and want to keep up with the universe, but this show absolutely stands out as its own thing with a compelling story and characters while still managing to remain connected to The Boys in meaningful ways. You can see where the events of this show will lead in the greater universe, but it still has its own great standalone story. Manages to comment on a lot of topics surrounding emerging adulthood and college life/relationships as well, but all still with that The Boys lens, which makes for some really interesting and entertaining moments. The twists and turns of the characters were executed well, and the story kept going in different directions from what I expected in really intriguing ways. Overall this was just really engaging, exciting, and interesting. Has the type of stuff you love from The Boys, but packaged a little differently and presented with its own unique themes and characters. Don't love it as much as The Boys at least for now, but all around this was good stuff.
8.2/10 -- Great
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Barely sneaks its way in to a rounded up score of 9/10 for me, for yet another great show this year. This is my introduction to Mike Flanagan's work regarding these horror series he's done. I've been wanting to watch his other stuff for a while now but just haven't gotten around to it, but this makes me want to get into his other stuff even more. This had such a gothic and dark yet beautiful look and atmosphere to it. I found myself so intrigued by this story and this mystery as it was playing out, always needing to start the next episode to get more information. It slowly reveals itself to you throughout, while on top of it all we get a really cool structure with each episode focusing in on one of these deaths and the present time centered around Roderick and Auguste in the old Usher house. It doesn't feel like true horror always, but when it does delve into that realm it executes its horrific and creepy aspects really well. Some of the imagery surrounding these deaths were just incredible, and Flanagan also clearly knows how to craft horror elements including how to pull off jump scares in ways that actually work. The ending was visually stunning and satisfying as well. There's also a lot of commentary that was really well done. The show just kept finding ways to shock or surprise me, while maintaining its grounded yet supernatural atmosphere in a really impressive way. Some episodes were better than others, but overall I really enjoyed the show. It's like a dark gothic Succession, and is just as good as that premise sounds.
8.5/10 -- Excellent
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An okay final season for the show. I think it focused a bit much on all of these new characters and it took away from some of the main characters, which is an odd choice in a final season. I just wanted more from some characters. But what we did get from our main characters was pretty good. Not my favorite season of the show at all, but not awful.
5.8/10 -- Decent
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For me, this is the first noticeable step down for the series after the great first couple of seasons. I just wasn't feeling the show for much of this season and even considered at one point that maybe it's just not the show for me anymore about halfway through, a big surprise after I really loved the first season and quite enjoyed the second season as well. I just don't think much of the comedy worked nearly as well this season, and the overall mystery was not as engaging as before. Paul Rudd being cast felt like false promises as well, given that he feels like such a perfect fit for the show but was barely in this. Maybe that's on me though, I didn't really look into whether or not he would have a substantial role and just got excited when I heard he would be in here. The trio being separated and the severe lack of an actual podcast also held this back for me quite a bit. I get that the show needs to evolve and introduce new character dynamics, but the charm of the show for me has always been our three leads together doing their thing, and this season there just wasn't enough of it. When those moments did happen, the show got so much better so quickly. I will say that they brought things around a bit by the end, though. The mystery was a bit predictable, but I thought the twists were pretty decent nonetheless and that incredibly balanced and enthralling tone finally found itself again in the final couple of episodes. There were standout episodes and moments for sure, and it's still a very well-made show, but this is pretty easily my least favorite season thus far.
6.4/10 -- Decent
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I was a bit worried after not being too impressed with the first episode, but this series got better which each subsequent episode and by the time it ended I had enjoyed my time with it. As the characters and story unfolded, I got much more interested in what it had to offer. I think they also impressively made me care about some of these side characters in only a short amount of time, as during the finale I felt real tension whenever these characters were in danger. The action of course isn't on the level of the movies, but it still does offer quite a bit and I found much of it to be very entertaining, even if it was poorly lit much of the time. This felt like it was in some ways even more violent and bloody than the movies too, which was a plus. The soundtrack was also pretty great. A shaky start for sure, but it delivered in the end.
7.0/10 -- Good
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Got really into this show a while ago and decided to come back to it after this season dropped. While it still has some interest value, I feel as if most of it is gone at this point for me. After 7 seasons of the same thing I think I've just inherently lost interest over time, and it also feels like they're focusing more on unique, radical, or odd prisons rather than the toughest ones necessarily, which I don't find as engaging. Still alright but I think the best seasons of the show are the earlier ones.
5.0/10 -- Meh
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