krankydoodle

I loved Jenny Nicholson's recent deep dive into The Vampire Diaries. It was a bummer to learn that author LJ Smith apparently didn't get any money from the tv show and that Matthew Davis (Alaric) seems kind of unhinged now. I disagreed with some of it (I don't remember Uncle John being that bad & still prefer Buffy), but it was so much fun to watch her go through the various relationships, villains, crazy arcs, dropped plot threads, truly terrible looking video game, etc. It's 2.5hrs long but didn't feel like it.

Boy from Love and Monsters. I didn't know much about this movie going in, but was pleasantly surprised. A big part of its appeal is the dog that joins the main character on his journey. Boy is smart, brave, and has his own character arc.

I've considered creating a topic for discussing actors we thought would have bigger careers, but figured that might get depressing. On this topic, I have high hopes for Kyliegh Curran who I thought held her own against Rebecca Ferguson in Doctor Sleep. Ferguson was fantastic in the showier role and IIRC got more attention from critics, but I was really impressed by how Curran pulled off the difficult task of making a precocious teen with supernatural abilities believable and sympathetic.

Not a great episode, but I enjoyed seeing Campbell Scott and a different era of Malcolm's life.

I tried the first episode of the French crime-comedy series Capitaine Marleau but was disappointed. The lead character was just too aggressively quirky for my taste and the story didn't hold my interest despite the presence of Gérard Depardieu. On a more positive note, I was excited to see that the first 5 seasons of Law & Order: UK are on Amazon Prime's IMDBtv.

I don't really like Dani or the way the actress plays her. I know that she's kind of a buttoned-up character so Aurora Perrineau's restrained portrayal makes sense, but I don't think she's talented or charismatic enough to pull it off. To be fair, my annoyance that they're teasing a romantic relationship between her and Malcolm may be coloring my opinion. Because the Martin-Malcolm relationship reminds me of Hannibal-Will from Hannibal, I think I was hoping Dani's role would be more like Beverly's from that show. I don't really want Malcolm to get involved with Edrisa either. Keiko Agena's great, but the character can be a lot. I loved that she was on Malcolm's side when he was suspected of murder and the nice moment in the season 2 premiere when she understood his reaction at having to contact his father for help, so I'm Team Neither as far as romance, but Edrisa gets my vote when it comes to friendship.

I was expecting this to be a slick, standard CBS procedural, but the trailer looks like it's taking more of a sombre, low-key approach by focusing on how Clarice and Catherine are trying to cope post-Buffalo Bill. I had no intention of watching the show when I first heard about it, but after seeing the trailer and a recent article from EW (Clarice producers break silence on Lambs sequel with 5 major revelations), I'm actually looking forward to it.

I didn't make it to the end of the original series, but Clancy Brown and the small town setting have me interested in the revival: https://tvline.com/2021/01/11/dexter-season-9-revival-setting-iron-lake-new-york/

A fun discussion hosted by Patton Oswalt. It was interesting to hear Jason Sudeikis mention Olivia Wilde's involvement in the show's development (and briefly reference the end of their relationship) given the recent tabloid stories about them. And I appreciated that he brought the spotlight back to Brett Goldstein after the story of how he was cast got cut short. Apart from that bit, this flows pretty well. It helps that Patton is clearly such a big fan of the show.

I was able to overlook them, but I'd agree that those are pretty big problems with the show's set-up. It also bothered me that Ted never stops to wonder why he was hired. The journalists covering the team are portrayed as relentless so it's also a bit of a cheat that they aren't shown pushing harder on that. I don't think I laughed a lot, though I did I enjoy the low-key humor, but the appeal for me is more the characters, watching a group of disparate people pull together, and especially the overall good-natured vibes during what's been a pretty sucky time. Ooh, it looks like season 2 starts shooting this week: https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ4O-sXHDFn/?igshid=1nvs8cxd0f8se

I have no interest in sports so resisted this show despite hearing some good things about it, but finally caved when one of my favorite podcasters put it on his best of 2020 list and I'm so glad I did. What a wonderful show! It's too bad it's on Apple+ where it won't get as wide an audience as it deserves, but I'm so happy they've committed to giving it more seasons. I have some quibbles (the reveal of Rebecca's sabotage attempts, Roy's choice of captain, etc), but eh whatever. I love that while Ted is kind and open-hearted, he's not gullible or infallible. I also appreciate what they did with the characters of Rebecca and Keeley, the glimpses of the fans throughout the series, and how genuinely moving the last episode was. I teared up at the reactions of the fans after the final match. I even felt a twinge of pity for the loathsome Rupert when we see how devastated he is. On a casting note, it still weirds me out to see James Lance as Trent Crimm since I remember him so vividly from the Absolutely Fabulous episode where he plays a classmate of Saffy's that Patsy flirts with.

Ooh, Diana Rigg is in this too! They credited the Pekingese in the trailer, which made me roll my eyes but I also kind of love.

Interesting, thoughtful article on the topic: Questions of Male Consent, and Lack Thereof, That Unexpectedly Puncture Both Fantasies of ‘Bridgerton’ and ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ (includes spoilers for the Netflix series Bridgerton). I was bothered by the way they brought Steve back when I first watched the movie, but the more I think about it, the more I'm baffled/annoyed by other choices in the movie. Like I get that they were in a difficult position when it came to explaining what Diana was doing in the time between WW and Batman v Superman, but panning over a photo in her apartment showing her helping liberate a concentration camp with Chief and Etta Candy was kind of clumsy. I did like the pic of her and a much older Etta together, though. And at least the movie ended on a good note with the Lynda Carter cameo.

I laughed when they abruptly ended their conversation with him saying, "Well, see you around." It really was weird. I'd love to know the reasoning for bringing Steve back in someone else's body.

I enjoyed the sibling bonding scenes in this episode and wish there were more of those. For all that Lady Bridgerton said that they eat together because they all like each other, they're sometimes weirdly formal with one another and don't seem to be as close as I would've expected.

I just started watching season 8 and kept an eye out for this. I think he was reading The Life of the Bee by Maurice Maeterlinck: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22394568-the-life-of-the-bee The only news I could find said it should be coming in 2021 but no details otherwise.

I just found out that Kal Penn is going to be in this, too, which makes me a little more interested in it.

I just finished The Darkest Evening and second the recommendation. In addition to learning a bit more about Vera's extended family, I really enjoyed reading about some of the characters (Joe and Holly) who are no longer on the show. It's also a nicely atmospheric winter read since the story opens on a snowy night at a country house and much of it plays out in a small community where everyone seems to know one another but secrets still abound.

This looks like a parody of Oscar bait movies.

I always figured they killed Poole off because they had built up the attraction between him and Camille to the point where it would've been difficult to find a compelling reason for him to leave/because they wanted to close off any possibility of a relationship so they could potentially pair her up with someone else. I like Parker, though that's at least partly because I relate to him as someone with invisible illnesses and random symptoms who can come across as fussy and serious about my routine as a result. He had some really nice moments in the season finale, and it was a fun change for the Commissioner to be so reluctant about a new DI. Of everyone who's left the show, I'm surprised to find that Ruby might be the one I'll miss the most. She was so sunny and warm, and I loved the big brother-little sister relationship she had with JP. The pep talk she gave him when he felt anxious about becoming a dad was lovely. I also appreciated how she humanized the Commissioner and gave his character more to do. And they haven't done a great job of giving Florence or Madeleine much in the way of personalities, so it was refreshing that Ruby had one in spades even though I agree she was a bit much early on. I wonder what happened behind the scenes. Potential season 10 spoiler:

Based on the video message, it sounded like Dave was away from his partner for the duration, too, which must also have been tough. I really admired his decision to bake things he previously struggled with and felt bad that it didn't pay off for him, but Peter for the most part performed consistently well all season and I thought he was a worthy winner. Not my favorite season, but the updates were especially welcome this year given how long it might be before we can start getting together in the US like they were shown doing (though I know England is back in lockdown now). I also loved that Rowan learned to make his own waistcoats, the sweet clip of Dave and his newborn, and the tribute to Luis.

Penguin Random House To Buy Simon & Schuster Hmm. Also, I didn't realize that Rupert Murdoch owns Harper so ugh to that too.

Search Party returns in January with Busy Phillips, Ann Dowd, an R.L. Stine cameo, and more fun guests I've fallen way behind on this show, but the new season sounds like a lot of fun so I'll have to try to catch up.

I watched at least some of the first episode a while ago and thought it was well made but didn't seem to offer much new. To be fair, I was watching a lot of mystery shows at the time so might've just been burned out on the genre. My PBS subscription expired before I was able to give it another chance. I have the latest (last? 😔) Agatha Raisin book on hold from my library to help tide me over. I was hoping for more Queens of Mystery, but I think season 2 has been delayed by the pandemic.

I like Laura, too. I wonder if the fact that we see her fumbling or struggling more than the other bakers (dropping her cornucopia, spilling the mirror glaze, and crying during the technical) is contributing to some viewers feeling she should've gone instead of Hermine. I wish we had found out what Hermine's original idea for her showstopper was and why she had to abandon it, or why she seemed to be completely winging it at one point. Even though she didn't have time to practice it, I was surprised when it seemed like she was just guessing at the amounts for some ingredients. I also wanted to know what Dave did differently to finally succeed with his caramel since they made a point of showing him fail at making it twice.