(Squid Game, Maid, The Morning Show, Ted Lasso, Only Murders in the Building, What We Do in the Shadows, Jeopardy)
It's amazing how time and place can etch things in your memory. At the beginning of quarantine for the Coronavirus back in 2020, as I sat at home wondering when I would be free to go out again, I turned to two of my favorite pasttimes, TV and movies, and was enthralled with "The Queen's Gambit." That wonderful series helped me get through that time.
Now I have been in another kind of quarantine sitting at home for the last six weeks, working on becoming the next incarnation of The Bionic Woman as I recovered from shoulder replacement surgery, unable to drive, not being able to do much (Hubby had to set my hair - take a picture of that in your mind), and when I did try to do something, I had to do it with my left hand while wondering when this fresh hell would be over and I would be free to get my life back.
So once again, my TV helped me through (you know I am a TV addict, right?), and this time, it was "Squid Game," Netflix's now most popular series ever, that helped me get through the pain and boredom of recovery.
So let me wax poetic about that and some other highly bingeable shows that have helped me get through these last six weeks. (And you don't need to be in pain or quarantine to enjoy them)!
Squid Game (Netflix)
A group of people hopelessly in debt play children's games to win a big prize. The downside? You lose, you die.
Nothing like seeing a bunch of people massacred after losing at Red Light/Green Light to take your mind off your own troubles. Yes, it's bloody but it's also bloody engrossing and fun. Schadenfreude at its best.
Now if you haven't heard of this series, I don't want to be mean, but you have probably been under a rock, because this show is the most watched Netflix series ever. And there is a reason for that. It's, pardon the pun, bloody good!
This South Korean series has been called a sort of "Hunger Games" for adults. That is true to some extent, but I think that comparison doesn't give credit to just how original this series is and the message it delivers. Just from an entertainment standpoint, it's great, but it also serves as a metaphor for the disparity between the classes as poor people and people hopelessly in debt play children's games for a big cash prize and the amusement of the very rich. And then there's that whole thing about what happens if they lose. If they lose, they die. Mmm. Which is worse? Being poor or being dead?
Our hero, if you can call him that, is Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae), a divorced ex-chauffeur and indebted loser due to his penchant for gambling. He has disappointed his young daughter and also lives with his mother and we all know what that means. He is invited to play a series of children's games for a chance at a huge cash prize as in 45.6 billion South Korean won (that's over 38 million dollars). Since he is being chased by some very bad guys to whom he owes money, he decides he has nothing to lose, so he buys in and is taken to an unknown location where he finds himself among 455 other players who are in his similar situation. Gi-hun allies with other players including a childhood friend, Cho Sang-woo (Park Hae-soo), who just happens to also be in a difficult situation and they all try to survive.
The players are all overseen by guards dressed in red jumpsuits and masks and everything is manipulated by the Front Man, who is dressed all in black and also masked and who looks like a low-rent version of Darth Vader. The players soon learn that losing a game results in death with each death adding 100 million South Korean won to the prize. Yes, death is on the table but the prize is just too big to let get away. And yes, Gi-hun is a big loser but he grows on you and you don't want him to die. Likewise, the other players are unique individuals and well-drawn, including a young detective who infiltrates the compound looking for his brother. All of these characters will grow on you too and you will be kept on the edge of your seat as you wonder what the outcome for each of them will be. Who will survive?
There is a Korean Wave taking place with the increase in popularity of South Korean culture. The movie "Parasite" was a surprise hit and won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2020, the boy band BTS has sold over 20 million albums and now this series has taken over TV. South Korean film-making is huge these days. And the reason? They are putting out great movies and TV shows.
Rosy the Reviewer says...it's a bit cartoonish and bloody, but get yourself through the first episode, and I guarantee that you will be hooked. And, yes, subtitles, but you can do it. If you like dark but original and engrossing, this is for you!
Maid (Netflix)
Young mother, Alex, takes her daughter and leaves an abusive relationship and works as a house cleaner to try to make a better life for them both.
Margaret Qualley stars as Alex, a young woman living with her husband, Sean (Nick Robinson), and young daughter, Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet), in a trailer in the Pacific Northwest. It's not a happy arrangement as her husband is a drunk and abusive so she leaves. But what does a young woman with no education or job experience do? Her mother, Paula (Andie MacDowell), is an aging hippie living in an RV with her much younger husband and Alex doesn't want anything to do with her Dad. So with no safe place to land, she finds a job as a maid and struggles to find daycare for her daughter and a place to live. It's not a happy life with one stumbling block presenting itself in every episode. She just can't seem to catch a break. But she is determined to have her own life and to make her way as a writer.
Created by Molly Smith Metzler and based on Stephanie Land's memoir, "Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay and a Mother's Will to Survive," this is an interesting, though often dark and difficult story of how hard it is to survive in this world, especially for women without resources trying to escape abusive situations, but, though it's not an easy road to get it, there is help out there. And there is hope.
Qualley made a big splash with a small role as one of Manson's girls in "Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood." But now she carries an entire series, and her performance here is wonderful and real, and I predict it will be her big break out. Expect awards.
And did you know that Qualley is Andie MacDowell's real life daughter? Qualley and McDowell make an intriguing mother and daughter acting duo with MacDowell playing against type so much that in her appearances on several talk shows she has wanted to make sure that people don't think this character is anything like her real self. Let's hope not. Paula is not only a flibbertigibbet, she is selfish, mean and probably bi-polar and MacDowell sells it (even though she assures us none of that is really her).
The rest of the cast are first-rate, and though at times you might say "Sheesh," as yet another catastrophe hits Alex, you will stay-tuned to see how she fares, because you are rooting for her. Oh, and by the way. You know how I usually dislike overly precocious child actors? Little Rylea as little Maddy not only didn't bother me, I thought she was adorable (I must be getting soft)!
Rosy the Reviewer says...I predict a long and exciting career for Qualley. Here is your chance to say you knew her when. If you like shows with well-drawn, strong characters and an engrossing story, this is for you.
The Morning Show - Season Two (Apple +)
A dramatization of the emotional and political life backstage at a TV morning show where the male anchor has been fired for sexual harassment - sound familiar?
Season One (which I reviewed back in February) was a juicy hit that won many awards. Now we are in Season two --- and it's even better and juicier.
Created by Jay Carson and Kerry Ehrin, Season Two picks up where we left off in Season One, after Morning Show anchor Alex Levy's (Jennifer Aniston) on-air meltdown that exposed the toxic culture at the UBA Network still stinging. She has left the network and is working on a memoir and wondering what her future holds. Alex's on-air partner, Bradley Jackson (Reese Witherspoon) is settling in as the main anchor on The Morning Show with help from Laura Peters (Julianna Margulies) and Daniel Henderson (Desean Terry), who as the only black anchor is unhappy about the lack of diversity. Meanwhile, Network executives Stella Bak (Greta Lee) and Cory Ellison (Billy Crudup) are still trying to get past Mitch Kessler's (Steve Carell) sexual transgressions and the unfortunate aftermath. Meanwhile, Mitch is hiding out in Italy and meets a local documentarian and they embark on a relationship of sorts with tragic consequences.
And all the while some strange virus is creeping up on the world.
There is lots going on, but it's great fun and Jennifer Anniston and Billy Crudup are outstanding, she running the gamut from caring friend to her colleagues to bitter rival, he a smarmy, winking schemer who you don't want to turn your back on. The entire ensemble is first rate, and you won't be able to wait for the next installment.
Rosy the Reviewer says...if you enjoy behind the scene exposes of television productions anchored by great performances, you will enjoy this (new episodes every Friday).
Ted Lasso (Apple +)
An American college football coach with no experience with soccer is recruited to run AFC Richmond, a London soccer team. Huh? Well, you will just have to trust me and run with that. It's good!
Created by Jason Sudeikas, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly and Bill Lawrence, even though the premise of this didn't appeal to me, when I saw it cleaned up at this year's Emmys, I had to check it out. I must admit, it took me a couple of episodes to get into, because Ted Lasso (Sudeikas, who also stars) is just so, irritating, er, well, nice. He's one of those guys who tries to put a positive spin on everything. But I got hooked partly because it's in England, my favorite country, and also because the characters are all well-drawn and interesting. It also turns out that Ted isn't everything he appears to be. He has some demons and there is drama. I will get to that.
In Season One, Ted is recruited by owner, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddington), to run her soccer team, AFC Richmond, despite the fact that he has absolutely no experience running a soccer team. But that's the point. She hires him because she wants the team to lose. You see, the team is her husband's pride and joy, because he's a cheating cad and she knows how much it would hurt him to have a losing team. So that's the plan. So Ted shows up with his sidekick, the deadpan Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt), both fish out of water in Jolly Old England, and, of course, things don't go as planned for any of them.
The team is made up of an assortment of interesting characters, most notably:
- Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster), an egotistical striker, who is dating top model Keeley Jones (Juno Temple). Jamie doesn't think much of Ted.
- Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), the aging and irritable captain of the team who is now on the downside of his career and who also doesn't think much of Ted.
- Sam Obisanya (Toheeb Jimoh), a young Nigerian who is fighting homesickness and very much wants to make his Dad proud.
- Dani Rojas (Cristo Fernandez), a young, talented and enthusiastic forward from Mexico who comes on board later in the season and makes Jamie feel threatened that he will be replaced as the team's star.
But in Season Two, things change. Rebecca has come around and is no longer the villain and has an unlikely romance. Likewise, other characters who started out as villains turn good and there is even a psychologist to help everyone with their game and personal lives. And that's what I found to be a bit of a problem with Season Two. Everyone was just too nice and good and there was no real drama until well into it, but I still enjoyed hanging out with these characters and was rewarded with a final episode which caught me by surprise and made me wanting more.
But don't let any of that deter you. This series is not just endearing, but also engrossing, and Jason Sudekis has created an interesting, though sometimes obnoxious character in Ted, a guy so talkative and positive you can't seem to get him to shut up long enough to really get to know him. But as time goes by, we learn he is more complex than he first appeared to be and there is a reason for all of that yacking that he does.
This series is original, it's fun and, though the series falters a bit in Season Two, it leaves you with a cliff hanger that will have you anxious to see what will happen in Season Three. And yes, there is sure to be a Season Three.
Rosy the Reviewer says... If you like soccer, fish out of water stories and some positivity in this time of so much negativity, this is for you!
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
When Tim Kono is found dead in his New York City apartment, three neighbors team up to solve the murder and what better way to solve a murder than to start a podcast?
Charles Haden-Savage (Steven Martin) is an aging actor who had success with a TV detective show; Oliver Putnam (Martin Short) is an aging Broadway director with money problems; and Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez) is a young woman renovating her aunt's apartment. All three live in the Anconia apartment building but are strangers until they discover a mutual love of true crime after the murder of their neighbor, Tim Kono. The three also love true crime podcasts and decide to start their own (with Oliver directing, of course) in order to solve the murder.
Created by Steve Martin and John Hoffman, the series makes use of the usual murder mystery tropes and red herrings but what's not to like about Martin Short and Steve Martin teaming up? You know it will be funny and this is. Yes, Marty mugs like mad, that's expected, and Steve does his usual delivery of straight-faced zingers, but it's all tempered by the presence of young Selena Gomez, with her deadpan expression and delivery and her oddly deep voice. She gives the threesome an odd couple vibe that is very appealing.
The rest of the cast is also first-rate: Amy Ryan as Jan, a bassoonist living in the bulding who becomes a love interest for Charles; Tina Fey as a competing podcaster; Jane Lynch as Sazz Pataki, Charles' former stunt double; and Nathan Lane as Teddy Dimas, an old friend of Oliver's who owns a deli chain and offers to sponsor the podcast. There are many character actors coming and going - you know, those actors you recognize but don't know their names - and even Sting and Jimmy Fallon make appearances. It's all very evocative of old New York and old-timey murder mysteries. Oh, and did I say it's funny? With Short and Martin and Lane, would you expect anything less? And might I also add: the opening credits and music over them just sets the stage for the charm and humor that will ensue.
Rosy the Reviewer says...a charming and funny murder mystery series reminiscent of classic movies from the 1930's. If you like old-fashioned whodunnits, this is for you.
What We Do in the Shadows (Hulu)
Centuries-old vampires living in modern day Staten Island. That alone is funny.
I know you know all about "Jeopardy," but I have to say that the Matt Amodio winning-streak was just what I needed during my recovery.
This long-running quiz show (since 1964) has had a difficult time finding its way since the death of longtime beloved host, Alex Trebek. A series of hosts of varying abilities have come and gone, but then Matt Amodio came along. No, he wasn't one of the rotating hosts. But he had the second longest-running winning streak of all players behind only Ken Jennings who had an incredible 74 wins (Matt had 38). Watching Matt plough through all contenders was so much fun. Even though in practically every show, by the end of the show, he was so far ahead that no one could catch him in Final Jeopardy, and even though I knew he would win every time, I still looked forward to the contest.
And then...he lost and rather ignominiously.
On his last show, he uncharacteristically faltered and left room for his challengers to catch him in Final Jeopardy and then when Final Jeopardy came around, everyone else knew the answer but Matt including ME! I still think he got bored and threw that last show. I mean, maybe he was happy with now being second after Ken Jennings for most wins but he robbed me of seeing him compete while Ken Jennings hosted (which he began this week). Now that would have been something - Ken officiating while Matt broke his record. But it wasn't to be.
Still, loved Matt and loved watching his success. Didn't like the guy who beat him - Jonathan Fisher - who went on to win more games than I thought he deserved. Let's just say, I looked forward to seeing Matt win and watched the show after that to see Fisher lose - which he eventually did. I know, I'm bad. But Matt was a humble winner. In my opinion, the new guy was smurking and smug. But maybe I was still mourning the loss of Matt.
Rosy the Reviewer says...still love the show but miss Alex and wish they would find a permanent replacement. Didn't like Mayim Bialak who dressed like the stereotypical librarian caricature which I think is the look they were going for (made her look smart? Which she is by the way), but which offended my librarian self, who would have rather died than dress like that!
