TV of 2023

[therewillbeblus]

She’s incredible in Dune, I’d never seen her before in anything and was kind of blown away by her acting.

Interesting, I seem to be that film's biggest hater, so my response probably fits into a 'we just see this film differently' category, but for me the recent adaptation sacrifices all opportunities at even slight meditations on passing nonverbal cues to hint at full characterization in favor of a fast-forward through plot. I think she turned in the best possible performance with the little she was given, but it reminds me a lot of those big-budget world-building HBO shows that posture at depth and characterization but really trick the audience into believing this when they're aggressively shoving us through the funhouse. Again, I'm the lone wolf here, so what do I know! I am glad she's being cast in big roles because she deserves it, regardless, but go see Million Impossible: Rogue Nation already

[flyonthewall2983]

We can at least agree that it’s good she’s getting such opportunities.

[therewillbeblus]

Yeah, I was a bit worried after The Snowman fiasco. I also thought she portrayed a really interesting villain in Doctor Sleep

[therewillbeblus]

Not sure if anyone else watches The Other Two but I think it’s a brilliant zeitgeist satire doubling as an earnest look at the challenges of identity exploration in friction with the burdens of perceived social inadequacy. The airplane episode from season one hits the exact right mark of tragedy and absurdist comedy, with an appropriate ascension into nakedly mocking the practice of lying to feel a sense of belongingness by piggybacking on someone else’s trauma. Also, major points for building an entire B-plot out of a Pleasantville reference in 2023

[brundlefly]

I'm loving Mrs. Davis, the new Lindelof series on Peacock. It's a positively-bananas sci-fi dramedy, which works at-odds with his typical sincerity but right in line with the tactful, self-conscious absurdism from The Leftovers' wackier moments. Betty Gilpin is terrific in the lead, and the imaginative elasticity the premise allows for is welcome, while still grounding to an internal logic we become gradually cued into with delightful reveals. I don't know how much it's 'saying' about the relationship between spirituality and technology in a world where both are so heightened, but the madcap explosion at meditating on that state with a swarm of uninhibited ideas intruding in on the action is expressing all we need to feel about it - no didacticism required. It's a great show for people who no longer think the world makes sense, but who don't want to drain their energy feeling bad about it during their leisure time either.

I too loved this show (perhaps a mini-series, which is how it’s chosen to chase Emmys) about antagonistic mothers and... I guess probably everything else – so much that I’m willing to forgive its foolish desire to make coherency contain its WTFery. It should have known better, especially when one of its ultimate lessons is how unsatisfying it is to explain every trick.

SpoilerShow

Not that it doesn’t tell us that’s what it’s going to do; its best shock comes right at the top with the billboard decapitation, but at that point having a horse-riding nun declare it’s a magician’s con is compounded surprise that seems like more magic instead of a reveal. But Arquette’s final sad confetti pop at least made you wish the show respected that character’s wishes.

The horse’s survival feels like a late addition so there’s a token unexplained mystery.

It may count on its ridiculous, elaborate explanations to be jokes, but the time they take and their occasional redundancy make them the most tiresome parts of the process. Luckily like most exposition the worst of it comes early – the second episode with the Man Cave Bros was the low point for me – and like twbb says you adapt to the user experience pretty quickly.

That the pervasiveness of the titular app often seems incidental and less-than-threatening may be part of the show’s lesson and also part of the process. The good thing is that coming from a general place of kindness and understanding makes the show easier to digest than another angry Look Up From Your Phones, Sheeple! screed; the bad thing is that you quickly absorb and accept things at which you might otherwise wonder long after they’d sparked joy.

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Despite the tone, I kept waiting for a malevolent reveal a la Neil Gaiman’s “Spy Story” Miracleman issue, where the omnipotent utopian force keeps uncurable, damaging players occupied with perpetual, impossible side-tasks.

But goodwill is infectious, and even though I’m unsure in the end how much scrutiny the show could bear, there are far worse sins than andthenandthenandthenning and then trying to make sense of the world you’ve made. Like any good quest and spiritual journey it brushes up against wisdom and acceptance and no one’s calling for less of that. More is more all night long.

Kudos to Peacock and maybe a secret sponsor(*) for setting a lot of money on fire for a show that has built-in extravagances and limitations and one that both is and is not extremely sacrilegious. Gilpin is great, Jake McDorman and Andy McQueen are perfect presences, esteemed character actress Margo Martindale always welcome. Shohreh Aghdashloo, of course. Lindelof is 3/3 in post-Lost series and should be followed to any channel (and I feel bad that co-creator Big Bang Theory grad Tara Hernandez doesn’t even have a Wiki page.) Have heard nothing but bad things about the Lindelof-Gilpin project The Hunt and have loathed the only other film I’ve seen by Craig Zobel but am now inclined to eventually check that out.

(*)spoilerShow

Do you think they went to Red Bull first?

[zedz]

Silo is off to a promising start, pulling a now-familiar bait-and-switch on the directionality of the series, but one that worked for me at priming an implicit mystery beneath the three defined ones: the murder, the history, and why the lies. I haven't read the source, but

SpoilerShow

I'm not too optimistic that whatever nefarious secrets being covered up by this fascist regime to suppress the people from an uprising, etc. are going to shed new light on an unoriginal sci-fi concept... However, the mystery I'm drawn to is why did our two pump-faked ostensible leads take the specific isolating death route that they did? Both of them clearly had allies within the silo, but seemed to be fully self-actualized in respective quick decisions to sacrifice themselves to 'protect' others, once finding out key information beyond what's been shared with the viewer. If the answer is just that there are eyes and ears everywhere, that'll be annoying, but if there's a clever reason for the secret-keeping and martyring clue-dropping, I'm intrigued

Regardless of how it all turns out, I'm excited for some world-building, the process of the detective work unfolding, and Rebecca Ferguson finally getting a juicy starring role after being sidelined into one-note parts following her complex star-making MI:5 perf (including the sad dilution of that very character is its follow-up). Plus, Graham Yost has finally created another show!

I watched three episodes and have bailed (wall-to-wall cliches and expository dialogue, mainly). If I make it to the end it will be as a hate-watch, and I hate hate-watching.

But, regarding your spoiler:

SpoilerShow

Wasn't it made abundantly clear that the devastated world outside the silo is an illusion intended to keep those inside inside? The whole thing about sending a message back by wiping the window? My theory is that the protective suit was supposed to be an execution / suffocation device, which is why whatsisname took his mask off. I've just realized that this might make the whole story an anti-vax conspiracy parable!

If you want to see a completely bonkers sci-fi premise done relatively well on Netflix, check out the Turkish series Hot Skull. Lots of the same dystoptian tropes - probably generated by the same algorithm - but sent through a faulty teleporter with a DVD of Pontypool. Extremely silly, but a lot more fun than Silo.

[therewillbeblus]

I'm loving Mrs. Davis, the new Lindelof series on Peacock. It's a positively-bananas sci-fi dramedy, which works at-odds with his typical sincerity but right in line with the tactful, self-conscious absurdism from The Leftovers' wackier moments. Betty Gilpin is terrific in the lead, and the imaginative elasticity the premise allows for is welcome, while still grounding to an internal logic we become gradually cued into with delightful reveals. I don't know how much it's 'saying' about the relationship between spirituality and technology in a world where both are so heightened, but the madcap explosion at meditating on that state with a swarm of uninhibited ideas intruding in on the action is expressing all we need to feel about it - no didacticism required. It's a great show for people who no longer think the world makes sense, but who don't want to drain their energy feeling bad about it during their leisure time either.

I too loved this show (perhaps a mini-series, which is how it’s chosen to chase Emmys) about antagonistic mothers and... I guess probably everything else – so much that I’m willing to forgive its foolish desire to make coherency contain its WTFery. It should have known better, especially when one of its ultimate lessons is how unsatisfying it is to explain every trick.

Yeah, it's broad attempts at striking eclectic tones and topical nuances reminded me of a sillier and less reflexive simulated content-explosion found in Assassination Nation. Ultimately I loved the finale, especially the hilarious and ethos-appropriate reveal

SpoilerShow

of the highbrow app pitch to a lowbrow market, and how all the narrative absurdities we've encountered were sourced in superfluous advertisement keywords, taking on new literalized connotations from AI..

I enjoyed the stupid moments like the Fight Club-quoting bro-mancing, and surreal anti-commentary evoking feeling like

SpoilerShow

the final shot of 'windmill-tilting', only coming from the inanimate object toward the person - or perhaps mentally-created by the mother demonstrating our abilities to create narratives coming from any direction. It's not exactly explicitly inspiring or meaningful in any specific way, but it's a striking image

[therewillbeblus]

Silo is off to a promising start, pulling a now-familiar bait-and-switch on the directionality of the series, but one that worked for me at priming an implicit mystery beneath the three defined ones: the murder, the history, and why the lies. I haven't read the source, but

SpoilerShow

I'm not too optimistic that whatever nefarious secrets being covered up by this fascist regime to suppress the people from an uprising, etc. are going to shed new light on an unoriginal sci-fi concept... However, the mystery I'm drawn to is why did our two pump-faked ostensible leads take the specific isolating death route that they did? Both of them clearly had allies within the silo, but seemed to be fully self-actualized in respective quick decisions to sacrifice themselves to 'protect' others, once finding out key information beyond what's been shared with the viewer. If the answer is just that there are eyes and ears everywhere, that'll be annoying, but if there's a clever reason for the secret-keeping and martyring clue-dropping, I'm intrigued

Regardless of how it all turns out, I'm excited for some world-building, the process of the detective work unfolding, and Rebecca Ferguson finally getting a juicy starring role after being sidelined into one-note parts following her complex star-making MI:5 perf (including the sad dilution of that very character is its follow-up). Plus, Graham Yost has finally created another show!

I watched three episodes and have bailed (wall-to-wall cliches and expository dialogue, mainly). If I make it to the end it will be as a hate-watch, and I hate hate-watching.

But, regarding your spoiler:

SpoilerShow

Wasn't it made abundantly clear that the devastated world outside the silo is an illusion intended to keep those inside inside? The whole thing about sending a message back by wiping the window? My theory is that the protective suit was supposed to be an execution / suffocation device, which is why whatsisname took his mask off. I've just realized that this might make the whole story an anti-vax conspiracy parable!

If you want to see a completely bonkers sci-fi premise done relatively well on Netflix, check out the Turkish series Hot Skull. Lots of the same dystoptian tropes - probably generated by the same algorithm - but sent through a faulty teleporter with a DVD of Pontypool. Extremely silly, but a lot more fun than Silo.

Thanks for the rec - yeah, I don't think this is in any way going to be High Art, it's just the same old dystopian stuff recycled and there are definitely dialogue issues... we'll see if it does anything new with the ideas. I did get all of that from your spoilerbox (yes, extremely beating-us-over-the-head clear, on all accounts, including your theory which is practically outright stated in its exposition) but my invested 'mystery' has more to do with

SpoilerShow

why these characters are 'unable' to share more with those they trust on the inside. If there is indeed enough evidence gathered by both Rashida Jones and then David Oyelowo to have full trust that the silo is an oppressive space, which clearly was both of their respective experiences, why not make an effort to share more with the trusted person on the inside before venturing out on your own? Jones told Oyelowo some things, but stopped herself before departing alone. He knew he could trust Ferguson, and that she would take in whatever information he had, but instead he kept it to himself before going out and left clues. If there's evidence that the government is suppressing a rebellion, why not gift some building blocks to help band together a group of likeminded individuals before making that existential choice? It doesn't make sense for Oyelowo to venture out to send a message back like so many have done and died before him, and then also set up all these messages inside for Ferguson. Maybe it's just going to be stupid (the most likely explanation is that there is surveillance everywhere and he just couldn't do it in a way that ensured her safety, or whatever) but for two people to only give half-measured intel to their only trusted people alive inside, yet simultaneously make impulsive, sound, intentional decisions to isolate themselves from those inside, just doesn't add up to an internal logic of motivation. They are separately motivated in these two directions, but there does not seem to be a reason why they wouldn't info-drop more before exile, unless they really really care about these people but don't wanna actually help them too much, because that wouldn't build a good series..

Episode four was a total shrug so I'm not as cautiously optimistic for the procedural process as I once was..

[zedz]

Re. your spoiler box, I wrote that off as just bad plotting! I had assumed that Character A had established the same code for Character C as they'd received from Character B, but then it didn't seem to play out like that. (I see neither you nor I have bothered to process the characters' names!) It seems like some characters can say whatever they like as long as there's some water running (and the audience needs the exposition), but others maintain a vow of complete silence (if the show needs to generate some mystery).

Thanks for the intel from the outside about episode four!

Oh, one plot element that I thought was clever:

SpoilerShow

The characters figuring out that the only message they could send from the outside was doing exactly what they were expected to do, since anything else would be digitally censored.

[therewillbeblus]

Re. your spoiler box, I wrote that off as just bad plotting! I had assumed that Character A had established the same code for Character C as they'd received from Character B, but then it didn't seem to play out like that.

I don't blame you! That's what I mean when I say it's probably just going to go unanswered under the assumption of a recycled Big Brother Is Watching logic, but if there is some more nuanced answer, it could be cool. At the very least, I think that's the most interesting avenue the mystery could venture into at this point

Oh, one plot element that I thought was clever:

SpoilerShow

The characters figuring out that the only message they could send from the outside was doing exactly what they were expected to do, since anything else would be digitally censored.

Ha, and this is what I wrote off as just mechanical sheeple behavior, emphasizing that these characters aren't really characters at all, not that the show feels that way or is aware of it!

I'm going to keep watching for now, simply because I've been in a personal mode of watching TV shows more frequently and movies less during the work week, which helps me turn my brain off a bit due to familiar cues, etc., and this one coming out on the cusp of Friday is perfect self-soothing nonsense. Plus maybe it'll be cool sometimes, and I don't mind watching Rebecca Ferguson emote for an hour

[The Curious Sofa]

I'm half way through Mrs. Davis. I find this show more exhausting than fun and the relentless wackiness is grating on me (it reminds my of this years Best Picture Oscar winner, which I also found interminably cute) Betty Gilpin is good in anything and Damon Lindelof is what made me watch this but it lacks the richness of his best work (The Leftovers, Watchmen). I suppose it's more of a piece with co-showrunner Tara Hernandez' work and I always did my best to avoid The Big Bang Theory.

To those who have watched all of it, does it stick the landing or should I throw in the towel if I'm not won over by episode 4 ? After initial online enthusiasm for the show, there didn't seem to be much buzz around the ending, though I didn't read reviews of it for obvious reasons. By its half point this show has so many balls in the air, it will have to be really clever about its resolution or it will feel like a cheat.

[therewillbeblus]

I think it ties up nicely but doesn't stray from its own bizarre internal logic already established. The ending does exactly what you'd expect, leaning into some universal sentiment on generational trauma, technological innovation obstructing human connection, cravings of social-emotional intimacy etc., and also subverts catharses by crushing expectations for labyrinthine mystery mastermind narratives in a deliciously stupefied fashion. EEAAO is an interesting point of comparison, since that film also does both these things - leaning into absurdity to get to an honest if broad meditation on ubiquitous concerns - but I like Mrs. Davis more because it's way breezier and less earnest about its dramas when they do get touched on, as if it recognizes, accepts, and relishes the fact that the silly fun is more meaningful to bask in sometimes than the solemnity of the issues. I feel like Lindelof and co saw EEAAO, said, "We all 'get it', so let's lighten up" and did just that

[brundlefly]

If you're halfway through and hate the ride, you're allowed to get out! The tone you find so annoying is not going to change; this is the show. An exploded horse doesn't change its splatter. I was actually surprised by the end of ep three that they were going for actual emotional resonance, spiritual honesty, some thematic unity. It sounds like the only reason you'd like landing is that it ends all the jumping around. I thought its plot got a little too coherent for this kind of kitchen sink storytelling, but I prefer a billion loose ends to a single Band-Aid. This, they made it work, for good and ill.

Not sure what elements of The Big Bang Theory are in play here. I've only caught a couple episodes and I remember them as being more formulaic than aggressively random. I don't think Mrs. Davis is at odds with Lindelof-land once you factor in turns like The Leftovers' "International Assassin" episode.

[therewillbeblus]

Not sure what elements of The Big Bang Theory are in play here. I've only caught a couple episodes and I remember them as being more formulaic than aggressively random. I don't think Mrs. Davis is at odds with Lindelof-land once you factor in turns like The Leftovers' "International Assassin" episode.

This is right on

[The Curious Sofa]

If you're halfway through and hate the ride, you're allowed to get out! The tone you find so annoying is not going to change; this is the show. An exploded horse doesn't change its splatter. I was actually surprised by the end of ep three that they were going for actual emotional resonance, spiritual honesty, some thematic unity. It sounds like the only reason you'd like landing is that it ends all the jumping around. I thought its plot got a little too coherent for this kind of kitchen sink storytelling, but I prefer a billion loose ends to a single Band-Aid. This, they made it work, for good and ill.

Not sure what elements of The Big Bang Theory are in play here. I've only caught a couple episodes and I remember them as being more formulaic than aggressively random. I don't think Mrs. Davis is at odds with Lindelof-land once you factor in turns like The Leftovers' "International Assassin" episode.

I was ok with one wacky episode in The Leftovers but am probably in the minority of those who liked the bleak first season the best. I don't hate Mrs. Davis, it does make me laugh at times (yup, the horse) and I'm more on the fence than totally negative on it. I've given a break for now but will probably return to it.

Anyways, thanks to you and thewillbeblus for the responses.

[therewillbeblus]

Episode five might be my favorite. I think it mixes the wackiness with dark drama well in addition to offering the most info-dropping in a ‘(back)story time’ scenario. The last three just build off of that one into missions which are variations on what you’ve already gotten, but I’d encourage you to at least watch one more if you feel up to it since you’re already there

[therewillbeblus]

Silo

I watched three episodes and have bailed (wall-to-wall cliches and expository dialogue, mainly). If I make it to the end it will be as a hate-watch, and I hate hate-watching.

SpoilerShow

Wasn't it made abundantly clear that the devastated world outside the silo is an illusion intended to keep those inside inside? The whole thing about sending a message back by wiping the window? My theory is that the protective suit was supposed to be an execution / suffocation device, which is why whatsisname took his mask off. I've just realized that this might make the whole story an anti-vax conspiracy parable!

I'm still watching, and with only one episode remaining in the first season, we haven't gotten... anywhere? The theory you mention in the spoilerbox seems incredibly obvious to me too, but the "reveal" we got at the end of episode nine (which was portrayed as a big twist, as if expecting us to be wow'd, despite already getting the same information in episode two from Oyelowo's POV) is

SpoilerShow

characters watching video footage of someone cleaning on the outside, the world looking normal and habitable

The world-building has been lame and predictable - everything falling into an expected puppet-govt/1984 thing. There have been "twists" regarding character motivations, but they were so obvious from the early episodes that it's insulting they were executed so sincerely.

And yet, all that said, I'm still finding this a perfect Thursday night show. I'm not 'hate-watching' it, but there's nothing I really want to do at the end of the work week other than eat a pint of ice cream and watch something taking place in another world without being too investing. If Rebecca Ferguson weren't in the lead and this came out any other day of the week, I'd have bailed by now, but if it stays in place, I'll probably finish it to the end. I really wish you were a writer on the show, zedz, because the "anti-vax conspiracy parable" would be pretty cool to weave in

Also, Graham Yost's fingerprints are nowhere to be found here. After constructing such a rich, lived-in world with Justified, and making creative choices around reveals/twists that were thoughtful and provocative to audiences, I have no idea what he's doing here. However, there's one bit of connective tissue I only noticed last night, despite the character making appearances way earlier in the season - a completely unrecognizable Vasquez!

[therewillbeblus]

I liked the first season fine, but season two of The Bear earns the accolades the first unanimously received. It slowly transforms into a wonderful chaos menu of messy family dynamics, overwhelming fears isolating us from our social world, and the necessity of welcoming supports to fuel our own nonlinear rehabilitation. It’s a great recovery show, universalIzing experiences with as much humility and vulnerability as it expects from its characters, actors, and audiences. Also, don’t look at the cast list for this season - there’s a lot of big-name cameos, with one episode in particular stack-full of fun guests (I admittedly looked at the wiki page in advance, but I really wish I hadn’t spoiled it).

Forget Roy Kent, Cousin Richie blows that (superficially similarly-conceived) character out of the water, with rich textures of humanity that make him the most compelling supporting performance on TV right now

[therewillbeblus]

Re: Silo's finale - something actually sorta surprising happened! Which sparks a lot of interesting possibilities, though I'm not counting on the series actually exploring them..

SpoilerShow

Wasn't it made abundantly clear that the devastated world outside the silo is an illusion intended to keep those inside inside? The whole thing about sending a message back by wiping the window? My theory is that the protective suit was supposed to be an execution / suffocation device, which is why whatsisname took his mask off.

Oh, one plot element that I thought was clever:

SpoilerShow

The characters figuring out that the only message they could send from the outside was doing exactly what they were expected to do, since anything else would be digitally censored.

SpoilerShow

So in a twist, we find out that the green environment those who go out to clean see is actually the illusion, and the vision for those inside is the real thing. It's a clever bit of reverse psychology - it tricks the people who left believing they found evidence of the silo’s lies to have those suspicions confirmed, and then turn around and clean to “show” the people inside that they were right, but it really just reinforces the silo’s government’s authority (i.e. 'we send people to clean, and they’ll do it.' So each party gets what they ‘want’. And they leave holes in the suits to kill those individuals, showing the people inside that the government is correct. A double whammy - the deserters will do as they're told, and then they will die as we told you. Instead of the initial theory that the government was poisoning the people in their suits, causing them to die, they were just leaving an opening to kill them with the toxic air that does really exist outside!

We'll see if they do anything with this, but I like the idea that the Silo’s government creates this kind of 'game' as a way to weed out rebellious personalities: leaving some space and relics for them to locate “evidence” of things being okay outside, and then sending them out, thus ‘outing’ the people who would likely rebel anyways and causing them to engage in self-fulfilling prophecies. It becomes a kind of win-win, except the rebels who think they're winning actually wind up losing while still believing they're right.

[Murdoch]

I liked the first season fine, but season two of The Bear earns the accolades the first unanimously received. It slowly transforms into a wonderful chaos menu of messy family dynamics, overwhelming fears isolating us from our social world, and the necessity of welcoming supports to fuel our own nonlinear rehabilitation. It’s a great recovery show, universalIzing experiences with as much humility and vulnerability as it expects from its characters, actors, and audiences. Also, don’t look at the cast list for this season - there’s a lot of big-name cameos, with one episode in particular stack-full of fun guests (I admittedly looked at the wiki page in advance, but I really wish I hadn’t spoiled it).

Forget Roy Kent, Cousin Richie blows that (superficially similarly-conceived) character out of the water, with rich textures of humanity that make him the most compelling supporting performance on TV right now

I liked it a lot but still hold the first season in higher regard, mainly for the kitchen meltdown episode and how claustrophobic that felt. For season two, I thought Claire's character felt undeveloped and her sole trait seemed to be that she loves Carmi. The show used a few too many generic indie rock songs toward the end instead of just letting the emotions of the scenes speak for themselves (one brief cutaway of Claire in scrubs rushing through the hospital to a song reminiscent of the Frey was a bit too Grey's Anatomy for me).

But the seven fishes dinner was great, even if I got distracted by how many cameos they crammed in. Jamie Lee Curtis deserves an Emmy for her performance, which felt very genuine in how she's internalized so much anxiety and trauma. It's fascinating to me how you can see it pervade the family, especially in Carmi toward the end of the season.

[therewillbeblus]

I still felt like the show utilizes admirable restraint, and the relationship with Claire works for that reason. We aren't cued into all the intricacies of anyone's life, like we would with a normal show, but we're trusted to fill in the elisions and see the effects in real time later on. I can understand how people would feel things are 'rushed' in this regard (each character getting a solo ep to help them self-actualize and then suddenly they're putting that into practice/juggling life stressors) but the show isn't saying 'see, he did x so now he's all good' - it's giving us slices of significant experiences and then weaving it together in the milieu that puts this stuff to the test. Claire can be seen as a MPDG in many ways, but I think she works if you view the show as a series of acute moments. Carmy having flashbacks to these little memories is pretty realistic, and we don't need to be there for all the development to relate to that. I felt those montages were familiar of our own rich reflections - though we are taught cinematically to identify when we've been surrogates along for more of the ride of a relationship's rich development, so it's certainly an ask.

That chaotic ep in S1 was very good, but they replicated the chaos throughout this season, and that situation in particular again in the finale - arguably even more effectively. They did use "Strange Currencies" at least three different times though!

[Matt]

I’m only on episode 8, so maybe it changes, but every dish on the proposed menu sounds disgusting. Frozen grapes with hot beef broth poured over them at the table? Savory cannoli with mortadella cream, parmesan shell, pistachio, and mostarda? Marinated radicchio with burnt grapefruit and fresh rosemary? I enjoy fine dining as much as the next food snob, but give me a well-made Italian beef sandwich over any of these Michelin stomach-churners.

[The Curious Sofa]

Just making my way through Silo and I agree that it doesn't have much to add to the dystopian genre and its sluggishly paced. It's the type of prestige series which would have been better as a movie. Rebecca Ferguson and the mid-century production design (I want those tiles everybody has in their kitchen!) keep me watching though. I'm up to episode 6 and it picks up a little once it turns into a murder investigation. The cast is generally first class, so the poor performance by Common, who at this point is the closest we have to an outright villain, sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Shanzam]

It's not exactly TV of 2023, but don't know where else to post it - I was looking for shows similar to Gilmore Girls and found Parenthood. Lorelai Gilmore and Nate from Six Feet Under are there too. Wondering if Nate's role in this show is the alternate epilogue of SFU's ending by the Parenthood creator Jason Katims (who I have yet to explore). Currently watching the last episode of season one.

[domino harvey]

I enjoyed the first few seasons, but never finished it (through no fault of the series). If you like it, your next step after would be Friday Night Lights, which shares some of the same creative team