Miracle Workers - General Discussion

[nodorothyparker]

The continuing measuring stick gag to "leave room for God" was funny but now they've saddled themselves with another character who seems rather limited humorwise who only exists as yet another stumbling block to the Zeke-Prudence story. I do enjoy that they've really given Todd just no redeeming qualities whatsoever.

Benny's story too felt an awful lot like a retread of last season trying to connect with an adult child trying to go their own way. The only thing that really worked was the unnamed gunslinger encouraging them to keep arguing rather than just killing him. "I'll just be over here looking at the dirt."

 

On 8/10/2021 at 7:35 AM, possibilities said:

I also heard him say in an interview that he was working at shedding the Harry Potter image, and I think that also guides some of his choices in terms of being willing to push various envelopes and maybe be a little shocking.

Radcliffe has been fairly upfront in interviews that his Harry Potter money has given him the kind of complete freedom most people will never have to only do what he wants to do. He doesn't have to take any job or role to pay the bills, thus you get gloriously weird or artsy movies or a quirky little anthology series on basic cable because that's what he feels like doing.

[Chit Chat]

I think this one has been my least favorite of all the episodes thus far.  Sigh.  I was expecting much better.  

[Ms Lark]

On 8/11/2021 at 12:40 AM, nodorothyparker said:

The continuing measuring stick gag to "leave room for God" was funny but now they've saddled themselves with another character who seems rather limited humorwise who only exists as yet another stumbling block to the Zeke-Prudence story.

I figure she'll probably die of cholera or dysentery or something next week.

Speaking of weird stuff Daniel Radcliff has done to erode his Harry Potter image, his episode on Extras was priceless. Also shows what a great sense of humor Dame Diana Rigg (RIP 😢) had.

 

[Catfi9ht]

16 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

Speaking of weird stuff Daniel Radcliff has done to erode his Harry Potter image, his episode on Extras was priceless.

I've watched everything he's been in (except the stage stuff) and his weird stuff is my absolute favorite. Swiss Army Man, Guns Akimbo, and Horns are my top three. I would have really loved to have seen him in Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead.

I've finally caught up on this show and I'm on the fence about it. I enjoy the actors and the guests tremendously, but I find the humor to be too mean spirited at times. I'm not a fan of punching down at all.

I did not enjoy how mean Geraldine was last season, and I see shades of the same this year.

Karan Soni is probably my favorite actor on the show. He had a character on Brooklyn 99 that was hysterical, and he definitely held his own in scenes with Andre Braugher.

I had high hopes for this season because of the theme, but so far, it's just okay for me. I'll probably still watch because I love how unique this show is, but this season doesn't have the magic of season 1.

[possibilities]

I'm back to hating this season. How many episodes are left? 

[HighQueenEB]

USA-dar is never going to not be funny to me now.  Thank you, Miracle Workers.

I have mixed feelings about tonight's episode.  I'm really enjoying the struggle Benny the Teen is having with good vs. bad.  But, I was a bit surprised at Ezekiel "going for his fireworks" with Pru - their development as a couple feels like it's very fast and somewhat forced this season.

[Chit Chat]

This season is getting worse by the episode.  I'm really disappointed in it.  Also, I'm kind of shocked that they could air some of the language they did:  G**damn; bitch; fuck (bleeped out), and shit.   I don't claim to be a saint, and I can swear like a sailor sometimes, but I'm really uncomfortable with the GD word (see, I can't even spell it out!).   I hate shows that resort to foul language.  It's not necessary.  

And I really didn't understand the religious folks vs. the patriotic ones.  I thought it was stupid.  YMMV.   

[Spartan Girl]

While this isn’t my favorite season, it was still worth it to have Daniel’s burlesque dance. 

[possibilities]

Colbert's show aired the dance when DR was there as a guest. It really was the highlight of the Miracle Workers season.

During the interview with Colbert, DR talked about his girlfriend, which surprised me, as I thought it was well-known that he's out and gay. I either misunderstood the interview or am confusing him with someone else. 

 

[littlepaw]

I don't pay attention to a lot of show-biz gossip (not to virtue-signal, I have plenty of guilty pleasures such as being lazy and indulging in waaaay too much online shopping)  so I wasn't aware of whatever rumors or hearsay there was about Daniel Radcliffe. I did a quick Google search and from that I've gathered that he fully supports the LGBTQ community (he's being quoted as saying that "some people think I'm gay, which I think is awesome" and is particularly tickled by the fact that he apparently has a "gay face".) But he's had several long-term girlfriends, so no. He's a great ally, but no.

Getting back to the show, I've actually really enjoyed the last few episodes, after almost bailing after the first two of the season. I don't think anything could equal the magic of Season One, but then again, nothing could equal the magic of that amazing dance routine. 

[Morrigan2575]

3 hours ago, possibilities said:

During the interview with Colbert, DR talked about his girlfriend, which surprised me, as I thought it was well-known that he's out and gay. I either misunderstood the interview or am confusing him with someone else. 

He's not out and I don't know anything about him being gay. He's talked of his girlfriend before. There's a hilarious interview on Graham Norton where he talks about his girlfriend telling him he's too nice.

[ZoqFotPik]

The actress who plays Phaedra is Daniel Radcliffe's girlfriend.

[Morrigan2575]

6 hours ago, ZoqFotPik said:

The actress who plays Phaedra is Daniel Radcliffe's girlfriend.

Oh, i didn't know that. 

[nodorothyparker]

Phaedra is played by Erin Darke, who has apparently been with Radcliffe for years. Phaedra was also introduced as a religious cult member, so yeah, there's that.

Coming in late, but I thought this was one of the better episodes of the season at least for the number of gags that actually worked. Loved the USA-dar and Mardi Gras-style Independence "float" as well as Uncle Sam being a stand-in for Santa Claus. Throw in Phaedra being so uptight she was trying to eat a hot dog sideways and the bounty hunter with no name being so good out of the gate at ale pong. He's also the least stealthy bounty hunter ever.

Zeke finally "getting his fireworks" could be seen coming from a mile away. As with previous seasons, I think the actors have a nice easy chemistry but it does feel kind of forced here. If the show is planning for a happy ending for these two, they're going to have to move along with the extraneous spouses getting Oregon Trail-style snake bit or dying of dysentery very soon.

[Spartan Girl]

Holy crap, this was the best episode since the burlesque show! Steve Buschemi got to shine in his very own episode. Loved how it took the piss out of the White Savior Trope without resorting to indigenous stereotypes. Got a little gruesome at the end, but whatever. Gold star, show!

Edited August 25, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[Chit Chat]

I thought it was terrible.  Hated it.  Just about done with this show.  

In other words, the "terrible awful."  

Edited August 26, 2021 by ChitChat
add a picture

[nodorothyparker]

Wes Studi! I got to have a nice moment in this one fangirling over seeing two stars of some of my favorite '90s movies going head to head.  The deconstruction of the White Savior trope was handled about as well as could probably be expected from a show that's sometimes almost painfully earnest in its colorblind casting and writing while letting Buscemi continue to play the good-natured bumbling idiot. No, a lot of it wasn't laugh out loud funny, but that would have been a tough one to pull off, given the subject matter and no one on the writing staff being Mel Brooks. It's not my favorite episode of the season, but I didn't really hate it either.

Thank you, show, for finally addressing the silliness of the Benny the Teen moniker for a clearly middle-aged man.

[Pj3422]

On 8/20/2021 at 6:13 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

He's not out and I don't know anything about him being gay. He's talked of his girlfriend before. There's a hilarious interview on Graham Norton where he talks about his girlfriend telling him he's too nice.

Was that the same Graham Norton show where Radcliffe sang Tom Lehrer’s “The Elements”? (It’s the Periodic Table sung to the tune of “I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General” and he sang it perfectly.) 

Nearly made my nerdy little heart explode. 

[Spartan Girl]

So Todd’s a villain now?

[Morrigan2575]

I thought that was Wes Studi, he looks good. Drove me nuts all episode because he wasn't listed on IMDb.  This was a really good episode, I adored Shelia and the Chief. Hell, even the Calvary guy was great and totally got what he deserved.

Just watched the latest episode, I think that might be the best of the season. Very, very funny.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[Chit Chat]

Well, it wasn't as bad as the 'terrible, awful' from last week, but it's still not up to par with The Dark Ages series.   YMMV.  

[Ailianna]

I randomly saw part of an old Andy Griffith Show episode where Andy and company sing She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain. Needless to say, it was quite different than this show's version!

[Spartan Girl]

I was NOT expecting the show to go that dark with the cannibalism. The politics was slightly more predictable.

The bit with Benny pretending to be God was a nice callback to season 1.

[possibilities]

The cannibalism was a little too much for me. I don't feel justified in my reaction, I'm just saying that's how I reacted. The kid being cheerful about being dinner? I dunno. I get that they want this show to be funny, but it just wasn't working.

The politics was very on the nose. It's not that I object on any philosophical grounds, it just seemed like it was lazy writing because it was so obvious.

It frankly seemed like all the actors were bored, and the writers, too. 

 

[Chit Chat]

Another disappointing episode to me.  I've stuck with it this season in hopes that it would get better, but it's been different levels of bad with each episode.  I'll stick with it until the end though.  Might as well see how it turns out.  

[highway61]

... and now the 'town' is down to about six people? They sort of maintained the illusion of a crowd before, when they had more wagon trains.

I still like the series but this isn't the season I'd show someone else to get them on board. One more week!

 

[possibilities]

I assumed the rest of them died when Todd sent the caravan over the cliff.

[highway61]

20 hours ago, possibilities said:

I assumed the rest of them died when Todd sent the caravan over the cliff.

Yeah, that could be, but it would put Todd in a whole new level of bad guy. And Prudence didn't mention it. I think they just didn't bother with more actors!

 

Edited September 10, 2021 by highway61

[Spartan Girl]

Well, we got Daniel in drag doing a sexy dance again. That was something.

Hopefully we get a better story next season. 

[Snow Apple]

I forgot to watch. Can someone provide a summary of the last episode?

[Chit Chat]

11 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I forgot to watch. Can someone provide a summary of the last episode?

The group makes it to Oregon (same town Prudence & Todd are in) to find it in ruins.  They find out that Prudence & Todd are in the Governor's mansion that overlooks the city.  Trig and her gang are in charge and are keeping Todd safe.  

Todd is in the mansion and he's watching as men & women are dancing in front of him in an orgy fashion (makes references like he's watching TV.)  Ezekiel dresses as a woman and has a veil on and attempts to get Prudence from her cage.  Todd sees him (not as Ezekiel) but some strange mix of a person - not sure if it's a man or a woman, but he is intrigued.  Ezekiel starts dancing for him when his veil comes off.  Todd finally recognizes him!

Outside Trig & her gang are fighting Benny & the settlers.  People are getting shot left and right.  Todd comes out with Ezekiel at gunpoint.   Somewhere in here Benny & Trig are going to duel.   Benny drops his gun so that Trig can kill him, but she can't.  He tells her that he loves her and should've told her he was proud of her every day of her life, so she drops her guns and they embrace.  All is well with them.  Benny concedes that she's better at being an outlaw and they decide to head to Washington D.C. to ride a train into the White House, to which Karan's character says "that's a bad idea."  

Prudence aims the cannon at Todd and shoots his "weenie" off (as someone said).  He falls over and dies.  Ezekiel's wife and some of the others decide that they're going to take the "Miami Trail" to Florida and asks if Ezekiel wants to go.  He declines.  Some leave for Florida, and Prudence and several others stay.  Ezekiel gives a heartfelt speech about this being America, and while things aren't perfect they should all try to work together.  Cut to them cleaning up the dead bodies and the town.  The end!!

Edited September 15, 2021 by ChitChat
'aren't and 'are' - are 2 different words!

[Snow Apple]

Thanks! I’ll have to catch a rerun and see this weirdness for myself.

[SoMuchTV]

45 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

Thanks! I’ll have to catch a rerun and see this weirdness for myself.

@ChitChatgave a great recap, but if you want to see it in person, it's available - I just watched it - at tbs.com (and I would assume on their app).  You need to log in with your tv provider credentials, but it sounds like you would have that.

[possibilities]

I thought that the veiled dance was not as funny as the first time they had Radcliffe dance. The first time was great. The second time felt like: we have no ideas, let's just toss this same joke in twice. 

Had this been renewed, or does this season demonstrate the team is out of gas? I feel like they basically repeated last season, but in a different setting and with horribly thin and lazy writing. The contrast between S1 and S2 was much greater, and overall more interesting.

[meatball77]

I really liked this episode.  I giggled a lot.  The fight was hilarious.

They need to pivot for the next season.  Maybe science fiction, put them all in space?

[Browncoat]

The fight was great.  And we finally got to see where the "Benny in a barrel" from the opening sequence came from.  

Clearly Zeke needed to be drunk, or at least think he's drunk, to be able to dance.  Going through the seven deadly sins was a nice touch, I thought, even if Envy was a little weak.  

Definitely not as good as the second season (I still haven't seen the first season), but if they go for #4, I'm in.

[Chit Chat]

I left out something important.  Ezekiel & Prudence kiss and make up.  Now, the end!  :)

[Frost]

I really loved the first 2 seasons.  This Oregon trail scenario had such potential but the writers seem to have run out of ideas.  The sex orgy stuff was just lazy.  What was the point?  Ooh!  Look! Bare butts!   The only thing I liked was the Miami Trail.  How lucky these survivors had enough money for the fare in a luxury stagecoach!  

[Browncoat]

Well, with Trigg and Todd no longer in charge, they can go back to just picking up the gold from the river.  Everyone’s rich again.

[cynicat]

This season was definitely not as good as #1 and #2, but I'm not checked out of the whole show and am curious what they would do with a 4th season.  The Oregon Trail had moments of being funny, but they were widely scattered throughout the otherwise cliché stuff. Todd as Caligula was ho-hum.

I am willing to give a pass because this was made during the initial world of Covid, when the world was in chaos and they may have had to make do with what they had.  However, if the show continues, I would hope they have that figured out.

Edited September 16, 2021 by cynicat

[possibilities]

Was Caligula just a voyeur, like Todd? I had always assumed he was a more active participant.

[Morrigan2575]

I loved half the episode and hated the other half. The Toddler/Prudence/Zeke stuff didn't work for me.

The Benny/Trigg/Teams fight was hilarious, I loved every minute of that.

If there's another season I really need them to stop with the Daniel/Geraldine stuff, it's beyond tired at this point. Do something different next season.

[Spartan Girl]

21 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

If there's another season I really need them to stop with the Daniel/Geraldine stuff, it's beyond tired at this point. Do something different next season.

I agree. Nothing personal against Geraldine, I just think they need something new.

[Morrigan2575]

1 hour ago, Spartan Girl said:

I agree. Nothing personal against Geraldine, I just think they need something new.

Yeah, it's not against the actors (different characters every year so I couldn't call them by character name).  However, every season seems to have the same formula. Daniel is goofy/timid/generally dumb Geraldine is smart/pushy/opinionated. Daniel falls in love, Geraldine is oblivious, something gets in the way/breaks them up, they end up together and leaving or staying behind while others leave.

If their characters get together in S4, it would just be more of the same. I'd find it more interesting if they shake it up and have their characters in different relationships. 

They could also flip the switch and have Geraldine be the goofy one, while Daniel plays the snarky one

Edited October 3, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[possibilities]

2 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

They could also flip the switch and have Geraldine be the goofy one, while Daniel plays the snarky one

I agree very much with everything else in your post, but I don't really like this idea. I don't want to see the same formula at all, but I especially don't want to see some awkward woman pining after some oblivious dude. It just makes me tired at this point. 

I think that if they come back for another season, they need to refresh the entire show, not only the setting.

[Morrigan2575]

37 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I agree very much with everything else in your post, but I don't really like this idea. I don't want to see the same formula at all, but I especially don't want to see some awkward woman pining after some oblivious dude. It just makes me tired at this point. 

I think that if they come back for another season, they need to refresh the entire show, not only the setting.

Now that I'm thinking on it, most of them just play the same stereotype. So yeah, let's shake all the characters up. My favorite character this season ended up being The Gunslinger and that's probably because Karan Soni didn't play a sniveling little suckup.

Edited October 3, 2021 by Morrigan2575

[Chit Chat]

Season 4 is a go!!  Check out their FB page for more info.  

[Chit Chat]

I saw an ad for the new season.  It starts on January 16th.  It's called Miracle Workers: End Times.  Trailer for new season

Edited October 29, 2022 by ChitChat

[marinw]

Looks great! I was hoping the gang would go to the future rather than the past. I was thinking a struggling Mars colony but the Mad Max treatment works too.

[Chit Chat]

1 hour ago, marinw said:

I was thinking a struggling Mars colony but the Mad Max treatment works too.

Going to Mars is a great idea!  Maybe they'll do that the following season.  

Edited October 30, 2022 by ChitChat