KJ

The Scavenger Door by Suzanne Palmer : The third book in The Finder Chronicles; as much fun as its predecessors, and the end had me immediately turning around to start book four. ( Spoilery thoughts. )

Non-spoilery thought: Suzanne Palmer sure knows what it's like to live with a cat.

Um Actually live show: I don't subscribe to Dropout, so I'm sadly unfamiliar with most of their shows, but during high pandemic, they dropped a bunch of Um Actually episodes on YouTube, and T and I spent a lot of time watching them. So when we learned that there would a live show at this year's SF Sketchfest, we immediately decided to get tickets. The panel, which was not announced in advance, was Janet Varney, Marc Evan Jackson, and Tawny Newsome; they were an awesome group who played well off the hosts and each other, and we had a great time.

Top Gun: Maverick: I've seen the original of course, a few times I think, but it's not a deep and unshakeable part of my youth the way it is for many of my generation (including T). It's also been many years since I've seen it, but fortunately I was recently reminded of most of the major plot beats by Legal Eagle's video on all the laws Maverick broke (tl;dw: he's lucky if he's just in jail). Anyway, this movie is entirely a love letter to Top Gun, so if you like that movie, you should enjoy this one. I thought it was a bit silly, very predictable (I called a major twist at the end because "I have seen a movie before"), and riddled with plot holes and characters making ludicrous choices, but it tugged the heartstrings in the right time and places, so I found it worth watching, if impossible to take at all seriously.

She Hulk: Attorney at Law, Episodes 3-4: I'm continuing to enjoy this show. It's not particularly earth-shaking, but it's a fairly light comedy -- it doesn't need to be earth-shaking. I enjoy Jen a lot, her relationships with her work friends and with Wong are great, and the fourth-wall breaking asides work really well.

Thor: Love and Thunder: I admit, I'm not sure how to feel about this one. There was some fun stuff in here, but overall I found it a convoluted mess, mostly because its tone was all over the place. ( Spoilers )

Better Call Saul, Season 6.5: Possibly the best prequel ever made. It can be a tall order to tell a story whose ending is known from the very beginning, where the ultimate fate of most of the characters is known, and everyone is set on a downward trajectory. But this show confounded my expectations at every turn: in many ways it was the story I expected, but I could never have imagined how it got there. ( Spoilers for the last few episodes )

I thought Breaking Bad was brilliant, but Better Call Saul was so much better. Jimmy/Saul/Gene is a more compelling lead than Walt by far, Rhea Seehorn is brilliant as Kim, and I found the details we learned about the characters and the world fascinating.

Oklahoma!: I've never seen any performance of this classic musical, and since I've found that many such shows haven't aged particularly well (as I've discussed before in my comments about My Fair Lady; other revivals that left me cold included Hello Dolly!, Miss Saigon, and An American in Paris), I wasn't particularly excited by the prospect, until I talked to a couple of coworkers who saw different instances of this same touring production -- one in Washington DC, the other in Nashville -- and they told me how interested it was, how the staging completely changed the meaning of the show without altering a word of the text or a single song lyric. So I approached it with curiosity instead, and while I'm not sure I could say I "enjoyed" it -- it's dark and disturbing in many ways, and some of its more experimental aspects were a bit lost on me -- it was a worthwhile and thought-provoking experience. Instead of a frothy costume period piece, this performance is done in a bare-bones style, set entirely on a stage that looks like a high school gym or the rec room of a community center, but for the shotguns that line the walls. There's no chorus, all the actors and the band are on stage most of the time, and every choice helps highlights the darker aspects of the original story. Dark as it was, I think I would find the traditional light and fluffy version much harder to watch -- presenting some of the things that happen in this story (e.g. bullying, murder, treating women as prizes to be won, show trials) as perfectly find and normal is far more disturbing to me.

Supergirl: Since we resubscribed to Netflix specifically for The Sandman, then canceled it again, and I had never gotten around to finishing this series, I decided I had better wrap it up while I still had access. I had four more episodes to go, and I watched them all today. The pacing of this season was really weird, to the point that I wonder when the cast and crew were told that this would be the final one. Lena's plotline, in particular, felt rushed and out of place, and I wasn't really a fan of it. ( Spoilers for Lena's final arc, and also mentions of Brainy's. )

I did enjoy the final episode overall -- quickly dispensing with the big bads to focus on what Kara and her found family will be up to was the best choice this show could have made. ( Spoiler for the finale. ) But I really think they either could have used one more season if these were really the stories they wanted to tell.

The Sandman, Episode 11: Surprise extra episode! This was kind of a genius move on the part of Netflix and Gaiman's team, to drop a special episode just as the initial buzz for the show was starting to wear off. I had been wondering whether they would adapt any of the anthology stories; it seems the answer is yes, and I think this is a good way of going about it. "Dream of a Thousand Cats" is a fun little self-contained story; "Calliope" is disturbing and difficult, and I'm not sure it's the one I would have chosen to end on, although I suppose it makes sense to set up Orpheus for the next arc. Anyway, given that this is the story they decided to tell, I think they did a good job with it.

This is, of course, not everything I watched in July, but it is everything I wrote a little about and never got around to posting. Other media from July I could talk about, and possibly will later (especially if anyone is interested): Severance, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Better Call Saul S6.5, Stray, Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Upload: I don't think I ever posted here about the first season of Upload, an Amazon Prime series about the digital afterlife, so even though I watched it over a year ago, the occasion of finishing Season 2 is a fine time to talk about the series as a whole. I feel like I haven't heard a lot of buzz in fandom circles about Upload, and it's a shame, because it's a solid sci-fi comedy drama with clever writing and excellent chemistry between the leads. The premise: it's the near future, and we've figured out how to upload full human consciousnesses to the cloud at the time of death. But because we live in a capitalist society, the digital divide carries over into the Great Beyond, with those who can afford it living in posh resorts, while lower-cost solutions feature bare-bones accommodations and strict data limits. Our two protagonists are Nora, who works as a sort of digital assistant in Lakeview, one of the higher end residences, and Nathan, a programmer who was working on a more egalitarian solution when he died unexpectedly in a car accident... or maybe it was murder. Lots of clever skewering of corporate greed, a charming romance, and excellent character interactions. Both the first and second seasons have ended on extreme cliffhangers, and I can't wait to see where it all goes.

Ms. Marvel: I wanted to post about this as we were watching it, and I kind of wish I had, because I probably would have been more enthusiastic. This is a show that started off amazingly strong, then devolved into Marvel's usual third act problem of raising the stakes too high and forcing a CGI-heavy mega-battle to round things off. That said, when it hit, it hit. Iman Vellani was born to play Kamala Khan -- most spot-on casting since Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, and I am not exaggerating, and I loved everything about her interactions with family and friends (even parts of the CGI mega-battle). So excited to see how they work her into the movie universe.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds: I mentioned earlier that I watched the first episode of this show; I enjoyed it, but it took a little motivation to continue. Upon reflection, I think my reluctance was caused by Star Trek saturation (watching two seasons of Discovery in a little over a week plus a season of Lower Decks and a few episodes of Picard S2), nothing to do with the show itself. So T and I decided to give up on Picard for now and watch this instead, and it was an excellent decision. While I generally prefer my TV serialized, it's nice to get a break from it, too, with a show that carries character development and motivation across episodes but also tells a self-contained story in each show. I could quibble with some of its decisions, but overall I thought it was great and look forward to the next season.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Season 5: I don't mind that Midge is often a terrible person -- it makes for an interesting character. What I mind is that she never, ever realizes when she's being a terrible person. ( Spoilers )

She's so very self-absorbed, and while I wish I could believe that was the point, my recent Gilmore Girls rewatch doesn't make me hopeful about Amy Sherman-Palladino's ability to be that self-aware. I still find it an entertaining show, while being glad its next season will be the last.

Star Trek: Discovery, Season 4: Despite some pacing problems (Jessie Gender's otherwise-positive review does a good job detailing them), I thought this was an excellent season, with some beautiful relationships and performances, lots of emotional resonance, and great character development. And the overall season conflict had the most classically Star-Trekian feel of any new Trek series yet. ( Cutting for major spoilers )

Yellowjackets: I'm not entirely sure what to make of this one. The cast is incredible, the writing and plotting is generally pretty tight, and I'm totally sucked in to the story, but I'm not sure I like it. I was expecting more psychological thriller and suspense, less horror, and it might be further over the horror line than I really wanted. But I'm invested enough in finding out what happens that I expect I'll keep watching. ( Spoilers for the premise )

Russian Doll, Season 2: Not quite the amazing experience of the first season, but that's a high bar. Season 1 was about personal trauma; this season is about generational trauma. And it plays some neat tricks with time travel I haven't seen before. ( Spoilers of course. )

I have no idea whether they'll try to make a third season work; part of me hopes they don't, but another part of me will spend as much time with Nadia and Alan as the universe will let me.

We're in the habit of bouncing around between streaming services -- turning them off when we aren't using them, turning them back on for something specific, forgetting to turn them off again... One of our on-and-offers is Paramount+, since the only shows I care about on there all have Star Trek in the name. I'd seen the first two seasons of Discovery and kept meaning to get back to it, but somehow I never did and suddenly I was two seasons behind. Finally, the release of Picard S2 inspired us to resubscribe, but for long story reasons we haven't actually watched that yet; instead, we watched Lower Decks Season 1 (and so far the first episode of S2) and I got back to Discovery - I've now watched the first 7 or 8 eps of Season 3.

I'm enjoying it, but something about the lore has been nagging at me, something I don't dare look up because I'm sure any site that might be helpful would also be full of spoilers, not just for Disco S3 and S4 but for Strange New Worlds. So I come to you, my faithful DW friends, for answers. It's about the Andorrians and the Orions and their relationship to the Federation. A bit of context first: my Trek fandom has always been centered around the TNG era -- mainly TNG and especially DS9, but I've also seen all of Voyager and the first two or three seasons of Enterprise. However, my knowledge of the TOS era is reeeeeally shaky -- I've seen some of the movies, and a very few episodes, but I don't have the lore at my fingertips at all.

As mentioned above, I'm hoping to get this answer with no spoilers for Discovery S3 or S4, or Strange New Worlds (or Lower Decks S2, if that happens to be relevant). But feel free to spoil anything and everything about TOS -- I recognize the statute of limitations is long up there.

( Behind the cut for Discovery S3 spoilers )

Many thanks!

The Adam Project: Time-travel movie made for Netflix starring Ryan Reynolds, a kid doing a brilliant Ryan Reynolds impersonation, and a bunch of other great actors who are varying levels of underused (Catherine Keener, Jennifer Garner, Zoe Saldana, and Mark Ruffalo). Reviews were mixed, and they were earned, but for the most part I enjoyed it. I suspect opinions depend a great deal on whether you find Reynolds charming or irritating; typically, I find myself more on the charmed side of the spectrum (see: my enthusiastic love of Free Guy), so naturally I enjoyed both the humor and the pathos he brought to the role.

Bridgerton, Season 2: I think I liked this better than the first season, for a few reasons: I found Kate a more appealing heroine than Daphne, all the sex was consensual, and the smoldering between Kate and Anthony was epic. fans self The actors had fantastic chemistry and could give a master class in longing looks. I still wouldn't call it "good", but it's fun to watch, especially with a group (I don't think I'd bother if I weren't watching it with friends).

Better Call Saul, Season 6, Eps 1-3: One of my most anticipated watches of 2022, and off to a fine start. However, I think I could have benefited from a 10 minute recap, because so much happened in Season 5 and it was awhile ago. T and I found this one, which was really helpful. ( Spoilers for Episode Three )

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart: I'm not very good at platform games, but they're fun to play, and Ratchet & Clank is my favorite ongoing series right now: enjoyable gameplay (when it's not over-relying on arena fighting), creative level design, and an adorable friendship between the two title characters. Rivet, a new character, is played by Jennifer Hale, which I would have never guessed in a million years, and of course she's excellent. Hard to say how far in we are, maybe a quarter to a third? So far so good.

The Great British Baking Show: Caught up! I can hardly believe it. ( Spoilers )

We still haven't watched the holiday specials yet -- are those any good? It's still so weird to think we now have to wait for the next series with the rest of the world.

The Morning Show, Season 2: I've always had some trouble deciding how I feel about this show. Sometimes it seems to be crafting redemption arcs for characters who are unredeemable -- but are they unredeemable? What messages are they trying to send? How many social issues and character arcs are too many to juggle at once? Certainly this second season bit off a lot, and I'm not convinced it always succeeded in chewing. Racism and racial insensitivity among media professionals; "cancel culture"; the fallout from sexual harassment scandals and who does and does not take accountability; the difficulty of escaping toxic relationships (Bradley and her family, Chip and Alex); the realities of being an LGBTQ public figure; bullying; the looming threat of COVID-19.... All this, and I still feel like I'm forgetting something. Even half of that would've been plenty for a 10-episode season. Try to do too much, and you run the risk of not doing any of it well.

I do want to go into spoilery detail on one plot line, and that’s Mitch. ( “Spoilers )

2022 Winter Olympics: Much as I enjoy watching the Olympics, it feels harder to support them as an institution every time. The Uyghur genocide, the pandemic, the Russian figure skating doping scandal -- and I think it's time to admit that whatever punishment the IOC was trying to impose on Russia by forcing their athletes to compete as the "Russian Olympic Team", it doesn't seem to have worked (witness Putin's pleased, almost smug expression as the Russians took the stage at the opening ceremonies) -- the dangers of the fake snow, the looming threat to Ukraine... it's a lot to ignore. So I try not to ignore it, but to watch with all of these issues in mind as context. There were still some amazing moments -- Nathan Chen's electrifying performance will long stick in my mind -- and I had fun watching. But I do wonder how much longer the Olympics will survive in their current form.

The Flight Attendant, Episodes 5-8: I'd say this stuck the landing, and took some unexpected routes to get there. I like how, ultimately, the heart of the story was Cassie's friendships with Annie and Megan, and that these relationships were allowed to be messy and have sharp edges. ( Spoilers )

Paul Hollywood's City Bakes: We were browsing around YouTube the other night, and the algorithm served up this show, a series from 2016-17 wherein the celebrity baker visits cities around the world, going into bakeries and touring the sights. Specifically, it showed us the San Francisco episode, and we couldn't resist giving it a try. It was a trip to see Paul outside the tent, relating to people and food differently -- although he still had strong opinions, obviously he's not critical in the same way he is as a judge. I also experienced an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for the days when I could walk around the streets of my city, popping in and out of shops, hanging out in Craftsman & Wolves (the patisserie that Paul visited, one I know well) with a croissant and a cup of coffee. Is it weird to be homesick for your hometown while you're still living there? Anyway, then we watched the Jerusalem episode, which provided a totally different experience because it's a city I've never visited and know very little about. I enjoyed it, although of course he leaned really hard into the "blend of food and cultures" and not at all into real issues of violence and oppression. We'll probably watch more as the mood strikes us, although it's not really a show where I feel compelled to track down every episode.

Encanto: This was lovely, although I suspect the strong reactions I've been seeing online had my expectations dialed up a bit too high. Not that I didn't love it -- I did! But it didn't provoke as much of an emotional catharsis as I expected. Mirabel and Bruno were excellent, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" totally slaps, as they say, and "Surface Pressure" (Luisa's song) was a wonder. And I love how clearly steeped it was in Colombian culture and tradition. This might be one to watch a second time, to look for early undercurrents of the later reveals.

I suspect one reason I got inconsistent at posting this series is because I lose track of which shows and games in progress I have and haven't posted about. I have a preference for posting about things I've finished completely, but since I'm not going to finish a show or game every week, that means sometimes skipping completely and so not building a habit. Therefore, one of my plans for this year is to say a little bit about everything that's in progress each week, so that I have a reason to keep working on it. So have a snapshot of my media consumption for the last week of 2021.

The Great British Baking Show: We're on what Netflix calls Collection 8, which I think is season 11 of original Bake-Off -- the first season with Matt. I adored Prue immediately, I enjoyed Sandi, and I've become very fond of Noel, but I have a feeling that Matt is unlikely to grow on me, and of course I miss Mel and Sue, which I have a feeling everyone does. We've seen the first three episodes, and at one point Peter -- the young'in of the group -- mentions that Bake-off has been around for more than half his life, and Paul's reaction is very relatable.

The Next Thing You Eat: Celebrity chef David Chang's most recent television project, on the future of food and the restaurant industry. We've watched five out of six episodes so I'll hold my thoughts until we're done.

Hades: We've played through the main storyline and are probably working toward the epilogue, although we may give up on it as requiring too much grinding. This will definitely get a longer write-up once we've finished (or given up).

Derry Girls, Episode 1: We watched this last night; not much to say yet, but it's charming and funny so far. Michelle is a terrible person and somehow I still find her kind of hilarious.

The Twilight Saga: So, okay. ( This got long )