Clark | Definitely Opinions

Russian Doll – Season 1 Review

Well, that was pretty great, and maybe the best show Netflix has debuted in a long time. I think I have The Good Place to thank for priming me for this type of content, though. Both are weird, existential, dark, funny, and touching all at once. While the surface story isn’t terribly original at first—imagine a raunchier Groundhog Day—the show becomes its own thing by the end of Episode 2. I gotta enter spoiler territory to explain why I started loving the show so much at that point, but here goes… Once we’re introduced to a second victim of the time loop, Russian Doll takes on a completely new journey that’s less “trying to repeat the correct steps each day” and more “how the eff did we both get into this mess.”

While Nadia was a fun character with the right amount of snark, I couldn’t see her carrying the show on her own for the entire season. So pairing her with Alan was perfect, and it was a lot of fun to see how the two of them handled their situation, dealt with their recurring deaths, and ultimately grew as people. I was worried where the show was going to end when the penultimate episode was framed like a horror story with weird and creepy things happening for no reason. But the finale more than made up for it. I really like the note it ended on, a very Good Place-esque, bittersweet sense of acceptance. Given the ending, I don’t think a Season 2 is warranted, but I do hope we start seeing more content like this on Netflix.

Friends From College – Season 2 Review

Friends From College

I really didn’t care for Season 1 of this show, but I’m always curious if bad TV can learn from its mistakes. The opening scene of Season 2 certainly seemed self-aware of its own awfulness when a character sums up the previous year as an “epic shitshow” that nobody liked. With Season 1’s big affair out in the open, the characters aren’t quite as terrible as they once were, though it’s hard to forgive/forget what the inciting incident was leading into the new season. These episodes are all about the fall-out of the affair and how it ruined pretty much everyone’s lives. Which, again, begs the question… why is this show called “Friends” From College?

Season 2 actually is better, though. I’ll give them that. There were some fairly funny sight gags and word play throughout, but when the show goes for broader humor, it’s still really cringey. Not Office or Curb cringey, just… blatantly trying too hard to be funny. This kind of humor feels even more out of place considering the rest of the show wants to be a serious drama. Some of it works, but most of the time, it’s hard to feel any sympathy for people who haven’t done much to redeem themselves. They still don’t get along with each other. They still use people and sleep around. But it’s supposed to be okay now because they’re more honest about it? Baby steps, I guess…

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch Review

Bandersnatch

It’s hard for me to talk about Bandersnatch without comparing it to an earlier, similar “choose your own adventure” film called Late Shift. What’s odd is that Late Shift was much more of a movie than Bandersnatch but seems to have found its home on gaming marketplaces. Bandersnatch, on the other hand, feels more like a video game but is delivered on a movie/TV streaming service. Yes, I get that the point was to blur the line between film and game. However, it’s easier to classify Bandersnatch as a game simply because you can “game over” very early on and have to rewind to try again.

I do like that beats are skipped when you’re re-watching scenes, and some of the dialogue even references the fact that you (and the characters) have been through this already. That’s actually the neatest thing about Bandersnatch, how it occasionally veers into meta territory and either subtly talks to you, the viewer, or has the main character grow paranoid that someone is making decisions for him. Unfortunately, and depending on which story paths you follow, this idea isn’t explored in any great detail. Despite having multiple possible endings, none of them feel very Black Mirror-ish.

Black Mirror has always been about the abuses of technology, but there’s really no tech in Bandersnatch. The tech is basically Netflix itself, which would have been cool had they pushed harder into breaking the fourth wall. But, again, not every story path goes there, and those that do still wrap up unsatisfactorily. Taken as a movie, Bandersnatch is simply about a boy who goes mad trying to develop the perfect video game. With the interactive element thrown in, I suppose you could feel that you drove Stefan insane. It’s just hard to appreciate that conclusion when your options either end the game too soon or let the madness play out to its own completion.

Happy! – Season 1 Review

Happy!

I was totally onboard with Happy! in its first few episodes. It struck a wonderfully weird tone of silliness and gritty violence. Further into the season, though, things got a bit too weird to the point where I don’t even understand the rules of this universe anymore. I could accept that Hailey had an imaginary friend who only she and her dad could see, but then it turns out… other people could see Happy, too. And there are actually other imaginary friends who can all talk to each other. And anyone who can see one imaginary friend can see them all. Oh, and apparently people can come back from the dead in this world? And there are possibly aliens at play, too? It’s… it’s too much, man.

Still, I appreciate that a TV show like this exists. In a way, it reminds me of Amazon’s The Tick in that it embraces comic book camp while still reminding you that real-world violence is a thing. The contrast between Nick Sax (aka the dumpster version of The Punisher) and Happy (an overly positive flying unicorn) is pretty great. It’s odd, then, that Happy, who has the show named after him, really isn’t in it that much. There were long periods where I forgot he was even a character. Without Happy, though, the show Happy! runs the risk of feeling like any other crime drama. Well, I suppose the occasional zombie, off-beat joke, or alien bug orgy would say otherwise. So there’s that.

Kirby Star Allies Review

Kirby Star Allies

Kirby Star Allies looked like it’d be a return to form for the pink puff, much like the Wii’s very excellent Return to Dreamland. The Wii entry is still the better game, though, for a few reasons. In Return to Dreamland, other players could still be Kirby. In Star Allies, only Player 1 gets to be Kirby, and it’s only Player 1’s death that matters. Extra lives are liberally handed out, though—my wife and I had over 100 extra lives by the end—and the game’s pretty easy, anyway, so there’s little threat of “losing.” Only the boss battles really pose a challenge, and they can easily be beat if Kirby just hangs out at the top of the screen while his 2-3 other minions… I mean, friends… finish off the baddies.

What made Return to Dreamland challenging, if you were looking for a challenge, was that some secrets couldn’t be obtained if you failed to hold onto a power-up long enough. In Star Allies, however, the game makes sure you don’t miss anything. Optional puzzle rooms give you everything you need, and not much thought is required to solve the problem at hand. Honestly, the best part of this game was after we beat it and opened up four bonus levels in “Another Dimension.” The puzzles here could be missed if you weren’t careful. The main game, however, was a button-mashing cakewalk that certainly oozed of cuteness and fun powers but was a pretty forgettable experience overall.

F is for Family – Season 3 Review

F is for Family

I wasn’t planning on giving this show another chance after an atrocious Season 2, but I was curious to see if it had corrected course at all. To my surprise, I think it has. But that’s not to say the show is great now. While they’ve dialed down the grossness and ridiculousness, they still haven’t fixed some of the issues that have plagued the series since Day 1. The supporting cast has always been weak, and yet Season 3 introduces even more uninteresting side characters. Why is a show about family (the word “family” is in the name, for God’s sake) spending so much time following the lives of their neighbors?!

A large portion of Season 3 is dedicated to new neighbor Chet, who—in typical sitcom fashion—immediately wins over the heart of Frank while Sue sees right through his bullshit. And so a lot of Frank’s and Sue’s squabbling revolves around whether or not Chet’s a good guy. Spoiler: he’s not. His storyline unsatisfactorily wraps up in the penultimate episode, leaving the finale to scramble for some sort of theme to tie everything together. The ending, though, feels like the same ending from the last season and the ending from every other cookie-cutter sitcom. Frank realizes he hasn’t been fair to his kids and says sorry. Roll credits.

F is for Family is weird, because it pretends to be a show that pushes boundaries with free-flowing swears and traumatizing nudity, but if you take that away, the scenarios driving the plot are things we’ve seen a thousand times before. What really makes this show special is the love-hate (emphasis on hate) relationship between Frank and Sue and their children. They fight like real families. It’s so relatable, it hurts. But sitcoms gotta sitcom, yo, and the family keeps getting separated to interact with paper-thin, one-joke, grating neighbors and friends. Get rid of the side characters or actually flesh them out. Either way, something needs to change here…