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mraajdar
Reviews
American Horror Stories: Milkmaids (2022)
Surprisingly scientific. Still terrible.
The boil thing is gross but it's not the "nonsense" described in some of these reviews. The actual real world smallpox vaccine was originally developed by Edward Jenner in the 18th Century in pretty much exactly the same way - observing the immunity of a milkmaid exposed to cowpox and developing a vaccine based on the exudate from her sores. Info regarding this is widely accessible online, 100% recommend looking it up for anyone after some morbidly interesting trivia.
This episode was still trash, but that wasn't why lol.
It was obviously an extremely clumsy metaphor for modern day antivaxers distrusting science and turning to insane home remedies suggested by corrupt leaders to devastating effect. The thought was clear. "They meant well" means they didn't DO well though, and that's what this is.
It's anachronistic (nice lip fillers milk maid!), pretentious, poorly acted and not half as clever as it seems to think it is. I'll give it something for being slightly more clever than the rest of AH Stories, which generally seems to come across like a high school production, but that's still not much.
Star Trek: Lower Decks (2020)
Better than I expected.
I'll admit it - I prejudged this. It looks like a knock off Rick and Morty. It's shrill and hyper and the animation makes my eyes hurt. Mariner is an obnoxious know-it-all. Boimler is a whiny narc. Nothing about it appealed.
I went in with a "pffff FINE THEN" attitude as everyone else around me kept insisting it was the best thing ever. I was sure I would hate it. I was mad at the SNW crossover. I rolled my eyes every time someone mentioned it on Reddit. Seriously I was a hostile audience. Not the most receptive way to approach new shows, but *somehow* this one managed to break through my shields regardless. It's actually pretty good. I was genuinely enjoying it by about halfway though season 1. It even made me laugh out loud a couple of times when I was still expecting to hate it. I'm now well into season 2 and yeah, ok, I'm a convert.
I still had to watch it on a tablet though. The animation really does mess with my eyes. Watching small helps.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Definitely not "NuTrek"
Boldly going where no man had been before...60 years ago. Shameless pandering to old school Trekkies who grew up with TOS and can't cope with change haha.
Not only is this a return to the classic era, but also the classic formula. A much more (generally) light-hearted, theatrical, low stakes live action Trek than we've seen since...probably TNG tbh. No gritty depictions of widespread unrest, war, or galactic level apocalyptic threat to be seen here. "Some mild peril that may be unsuitable for very young viewers," but mostly just a series of self-contained, episodic little morality plays with a fun cast, Treknobabble, Aesopian drama, character driven continuity, and a brightly lit set. Also, of course, a first officer with pointy ears and a captain in a mustard yellow shirt.
Gentle ribbing aside, it is still really quite entertaining. It has TOS' sense of fun and camaraderie mixed with DISCO's production value and respectfulness of women. All the best bits of both. The acting is all very good. Captain Pike's hair is glorious. It has flaws but it doesn't present itself as too deep or serious anyway so that's ok. Solid 7.
Malcolm in the Middle (2000)
Product of it's time
Pains me to say it, but this is horribly dated. I remember finding it really funny as a teenager but not so much now...possibly *some* of that is because I don't relate to the kids as much as I used to, but unfortunately I can't relate to the adults either. Lois is just a loud obnoxious American "mom" stereotype and Hal is a straight up clown. I'll only touch briefly on super creepy Craig. I think that stuff probably flew more comfortably 25 years ago than it does today. There is also so much casual fat shaming and ableism. There's a real lack of diversity across the board. Again, aged very badly. At the time that stuff was so ubiquitous and relentless that it practically became white noise, something you just had to learn to tune out, but then it gradually got better and it's very jarring to go back to.
It's not completely bad though. The acting is decent, especially considering how many child actors there are. Brian Cranson is obviously a jem and it's always fun to see what he was doing pre-Breaking Bad. The dysfunctional family dynamics are timeless even if the dialogue isn't. It's easy to get caught up in their drama even if some of the dialogue is questionable. The physical comedy...like it or hate it at least you know what you're getting. If you're after pure early 00's nostalgia it definitely delivers (albeit the aforementioned bad along with the good).
I'm not sure today's kids would get it in the way it was intended, but may still find *parts* of it funny (or at least retro / interesting with Y2K being back in as it is). It is what it is I guess.
Angel: Smile Time (2004)
Ugh
Horrible. If I wanted to watch Muppets I would watch Muppets. I don't like Muppets. They're a lazy, cheesy substitute for good writing and looking at them hurts my eyes. It is annoying that they appear in random shows without warning.
As for "why do people complain that it's too dark and then still complain when it's too corny", duh, this is just one of many problems with post-internet fandoms - a fandom presented as a singular voice but saying two different things is confusing and hypocritical, but remove the fandom umbrella and you just have people. Here you have two different kinds of people who like different aspects the same thing. This is not confusing or hypocritical, it's just opinion. This should not be a difficult concept, yet here we are with a 9+ rating on what should be a divisive episode, because let's be honest it's a gimmick, and gimmicks *are* divisive, people love them or hate them and they average in the middle. Not here though. Here we have an example of a fandom that strives to be that unified voice by bullying out all dissent until there is only one type of person left watching.
Enjoy this episode, by all means, but also don't be afraid to admit that you don't, and don't take that high 9 at face value, it's biased.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Where the Wild Things Are (2000)
Suuuuuuper uncomfortable
Who's idea was this? Why was it ever greenlit? Is there anyone who can honestly watch this and simultaneously not be icked out by it and also not come across as a complete creep? The entire plot is just an excuse for an extended Riley/Buffy sex scene. The sex is "artistic", there are camera cuts and blankets and dark lighting, but the audio...omg the audio...the mouth sounds and the moaning could be straight up out of p*rn, not even joking. There was a kind of poltergeist / haunted house story tacked on, but I feel like the only point of it was to set up a mean old prude lady who could be pointed at if anyone in the audience raised an eyebrow at all the...rest.
Was it an old school feminist thing like how basically all the ladies in Ye Olde 60s Star Trek were nearly naked and rubbing on Captain Kirk, but hey it's ok, cuz "idk liberating or something"? It comes across that way and it's honestly the only explanation I can think of. It has aged extremely poorly, regardless. Also I'm really, really glad I did not watch it with my mother.
I'll throw it a couple of stars literally just for Giles' singing though cuz that was genuinely pretty good.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: I, Robot... You, Jane (1997)
Aged shockingly well
I find it interesting that older reviews trash this episode whilst praising others that are now considered problematic. I think that this one has aged a lot better than many of the more highly rated "classics". I'm certain that this episode was supposed to be a silly, tongue in cheek poke at tech skeptics of the time, but in hindsight some of the dialogue is practically prophetic. Willow and the others getting scammed and manipulated by the demon, as well as Giles lamenting the breakdown of human interaction and traditionally documented fact...it's quite chilling. If I didn't know that this aired over 20 years ago I'd think it alluded to fake news, catfishing, even online indoctrination and radicalisation. It doesn't stop there though, it also points out the *good* that tech can offer, including new types of connection, and access to information that used to be gated off by rich old white men. It wrestles and weighs all of these things far ahead of its time. It ties them off in an (arguably too neat) little "some tradition + some innovation working together saves the day" kind of way, and of course the execution is not so modern (with some very dated dialogue and spectacularly cheesy special effects), but honestly if that kind of stuff's a deal-breaker then Buffy is probably not the show for you anyway. On balance I was genuinely much more impressed with all it got right.
Supernatural: Into the Mystic (2016)
Yes, Ireland in 1980
To counter another review here - it's a nonsense that a record player would have been out of place in 1980's Ireland. You don't get much view of the body of thing, but you get a nice close-up of the turntable and arm/needle, it actually looks like a pretty contemporary model for the time. I can't speak for the US or Canada but they were still very commonplace in Ireland and Britain, especially for the working class who did not have money to waste on brand new tech. We were raised to make do and mend - to repair, reuse - to not throw things away until they were beyond saving. I *still* have my 1986 record player working and in use fwiw. Besides which, the song being played is from the 60s, so even if they could afford / were inclined to get a new player it would be silly to get rid of all their old records and the means to play them, then re-buy them all in new format, that's beyond wasteful and just pointless. The idea that "everyone would have a tape deck" and LPs belong in the 1880s comes across as a very foreign, somewhat ignorant thing to be worked up about the episode for. Do not judge the episode based on a factually incorrect criticism of the opening sequence.
That aside, the episode itself is pretty good. One of the best monster of the weeks in a while. I've missed the older episodes that were much more based in mythology and folklore. It's a bonus that's it's pretty local folklore for me haha. The casting is disability inclusive without it feeling too token (a main guest character is deaf thanks to the banshee scream; her actress is also deaf), the writing is focused, the soundtrack fits. The CGI banshee is a bit silly looking but tbh that's my only criticism. Good solid standalone episode.
Supernatural: How to Win Friends and Influence Monsters (2011)
Intense chewing sounds throughout. Unwatchable.
I will preface that I have no problem with gore and I am not complaining about bad manners, I am specifically talking about painful audio triggers. Misophonia. Nails on a chalkboard but *more*. Short circuit your brain, lock up your muscles more.
Yes I realise that Supernatural started out as a horror show. Again, not the issue. Kripke era is without doubt my favourite. I understand the difference between a fun "ew that's gross lol" cringe (which I enjoy for the record) and a physically painful neural response to sound. You can do horror and gore without hitting painful sound frequencies. There was no reason to include them apart from, I assume, some push the boundaries edgelord sound engineer wanting to leave his mark on the industry by going beyond atmosphere and into disgust. It's not disgusting though, not really, at least not first and foremost. It just hurts.
This episode is one of a handful from Supernatural that I can. Not. Watch. At least not without mute and subtitles. Unfortunately it's also a mythology arc episode. The series on the whole had a nasty (and infuriatingly unnecessary) habit of throwing in random painful chomping slurpy mouth sounds with no warning, but at least most were in skippable/monster of the week episodes, or even just over with quickly enough that you could grit your teeth and clench your fists til they were over (not as if that makes it ok). Not this one though. Putting these sounds so prominently in such an important episode is ableist to people with neuro divergences that cause sounds sensitivity, and it's unacceptable and unforgivable tbh. I still like Supernatural for more reasons than I dislike it, but seriously this one is such a big mark for the dislike column. Complaining about it now can't fix what's done, but it still needs to be said. Hopefully one day someone with power will listen and this will stop being a thing that people *need* to complain about.
Star Trek: Catspaw (1967)
Evil cat lady goes mrow
Is this the amazing writing, the demise of which is so lamented in discussion of "New Trek"?
Don't get me wrong, I adore Kirk and co, and I appreciate how ahead of the game this show was at times (even though not all of it aged well), but this? Not one of those times. I don't understand how it was ever acceptable. Even as a Halloween special or whatever it was supposed to be, honestly compared with this, Scooby Doo is high concept. I'm shocked the cast managed to keep it together long enough to film, it must have been so degrading.
I understand that the series was put together on a shoestring budget. I understand that meant a fair few episodes were basically written around what costumes and sets they could borrow. I understand that women's lib in the 60's looked a lot different than it does today. The episodes that showcase any or all of those features are mostly easy enough to excuse, have a good natured laugh at, or at least ignore. This though? It really stands out for all the wrong reasons. Just. So. Stupid.
Star Trek: Voyager: Macrocosm (1996)
I love it like a bad b-horror.
This episode is so stupid, I love it. It's action trash, not much more, but when it comes to filler episodes I'll happily take that that over the random "funny" cringe with Neelix, or those Ferengi episodes I try to block from my memory of DS9 any day, ugh.
It comes across quite self-aware to me too, otherwise I can't imagine they would have been so blatant about styling Janeway as Ellen Ripley - a few reviews have commented on it - my guess is it was supposed to be a big shiny "we're not taking this seriously" but the point evidently got lost on some.
The CGI is so dated and janky it's just funny. The virus' stabby appendage and the crew flapping arms at nothing had me rolling.
As for why they take so many diversions, I assumed it was obvious? They need to make allies, diplomatic relations, trading partners etc to continue the mission. They don't have infinite resources on the ship, this was mentioned several times.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: In the Cards (1997)
"Fine". Amusing imo, but that's subjective.
This episode is silly and irreverent and you either like that sort of thing or you don't. The rest of this season is so heavy some light relief isn't a bad thing imo, although it doesn't really contribute anything to the overarching plot admittedly. There is a fairly significant conversation between Sisko and Wynn but it is short and you won't really get lost without it; you would objectively be safe to skip this one. You can probably find that particular conversation online somewhere these days anyway if you really want to.
The writing is quirky, the direction is good and it was fun to find out it was done by Michael Dorn. I personally feel it deserves to sit around average - be that a high or low average depending on your sensibilities.
I find some of the very low ratings here a bit sus tbh, especially since a lot of them use the same language, specifically about Jake (lazy, slovenly, unproductive etc.) I'd buy a generic "irritating" because...Well he is. It's such a specific complaint though (and actually irrelevant to the plot of this episode since he's quite the opposite in his machinations here) so I'm inclined to think it's multiple accounts from the same person doing a spot of review bombing, I would suggest ignoring them.
Blockbuster (2022)
Ok, I'm a daydreamer, but hear me out though.
So...Objectively this sucks. BUT. But. It's obvious the cast also know it sucks and are totally phoning it in, which makes for quite the happy accident: Melissa Fumero is full on playing B99's Amy Santiago. She's slipped her on like a broken-in pair of shoes and she's totally unapologetic about it. That has lead me to go meta with my viewing experience and watch it as a piece of so bad it's good B99 AU fanfiction, and honestly I'm loving it. How did Amy end up in this universe? Is it a multiverse situation? Is she in a coma? She's found another cute but immature manboy to have a will-they-won't-they situation with, does that mean every Amy in the multiverse has a type or is it her subconscious trying desperately to remember Jake but unable to picture his face? What's the connection to Blockbuster? Jake still has his membership, could this be the key? Why is Rosa's mom there? The plot is predictable, the dialogue is generic, the characters are bland, but I can totally buy that as just being down to the creative limitations of Amy's subconscious which pushes me further towards the coma theory. If it is all taking part in her subconscious that raises the question of what happened to her? Did it happen on the job? Was it a perp? What's happening at the 99, how crazy is everyone going trying to catch the guy? Is Jake holding it together? It's Jake, he's totally not holding it together. And what does it say about her that she's imagining herself as a Harvard dropout working in a dying franchise video store? She was always super competitive, does she feel like she's settled with Jake and the kid? Or is it just her subconscious screaming at her to wake up before her lack of consciousness destroys her roadmap to becoming the youngest Captain in the NYPD? Seriously. So. Much. *100% headcanon* intrigue going on, get on board, you won't be disappointed.
If you can't get on board though, ok yeah it's just straight up trash, don't waste your time.
Derek (2012)
Hmm
To preface: I have high functioning autism, formerly known as Asperger's.
I put off watching this for a long time, and when I eventually took the plunge it was an uncomfortable watch, very much so at times. Neurotypical people have a tendency to hear the word "autism" and lump us together into a neat little box - one that often looks a bit like Derek, at least on a superficial level. Autism is a spectrum, I personally know Derek's and people who are Derek adjacent, as well as a fair few Dougie's and even a few Kev's. I personally relate quite strongly to Hannah: her lack of academic success, anxieties, fixations, all or nothing behaviour, social isolation, forthrightness, obsessive need to do her "right thing" even if it could get her in trouble...I wonder if she was written to be "not autistic" as well but neurotypical viewers missed it because they're so used to being presented with the Derek end of the spectrum. Might just be me projecting, but still. There was enough there with all of these characters to make my brain itch.
That said, I appreciate what Gervais was trying to do here. I get the feeling that he's looked at the boxes and also looked at the people who presume to speak for "the autistic community" whatever facile, nebulous void that is, and he's said sod that, people are people. Some are nice and some are not and that's all that matters. It was difficult to watch, but sometimes difficult is good. It's nice to think that somebody, at least Gervais and possibly some of the other neurotypical fans of this show "get it". Someone noticed. It's vindicating.
On a lighter note, once / if you've got past whatever version of discomfort the setting and characters brought on for you personally, this show is just genuinely sweet and funny. It's not wall to wall wisecracking but if you liked the pacing and mockumentary thing The Office did then this should deliver. It was good. A bit dark, dry, blunt, bittersweet, all the things you'd expect out of Gervais really, but if you're into that, definitely good. It deserves a watch.
The Ranch (2016)
Best viewed from the centre
I think the best thing about this show is knowing that it has something to piss off the crazies at both ends of the political spectrum, they don't get their heads knocked together often enough anymore.
Master of None (2015)
Jarring contrast into season 3
I definitely sit in the "a spin-off would've been a better idea" camp.
Seasons 1 & 2 are funny, clever, inclusive, they introduce multiple interesting and universally relatable characters and make a social commentary without being too patronising or heavy handed. It's a comedy with some dramatic moments.
Season 3 is a different beast altogether, it's cranked all the way to drama with just a sprinkling of comedy fleeting in conversation. It's fine if you're into that genre, but honestly, at least for me, if I want that I just need to open Twitter. I watch comedy shows as a bit of an escape from that drama, as I'm sure many people do. This feels a bit like a bait and switch.
Jarring does not automatically mean art, it's way too easy to slip into edgelord territory, "omg so different" just for it's own desperate sake, and that's unfortunately how this comes across. Even if seasons 1&2 and season 3 are separately like a 7 or 8 within their respective genres, that sloppy transition has to lose them both a star or two combined, sorry.
Gilmore Girls (2000)
Fluff, but well done
You know when you eat junk food and it's amazing and you love it and the endorphins and how it washes back memories of eating it when you were young and everything was simple, but you still can't justify calling it great food because at the end of the day it's still basically just a pile of fat and carbs?
This show is that.
The Nest (2020)
The actors deserve a better script.
Conceptually, no pun intended, ridiculous. Farcical. Gets worse the longer you watch, almost started to wonder if it was supposed to be satire at one point tbh. Alright background noise though. Well acted. Nice sound and visuals.
Supernatural (2005)
Strong start but...Meh.
I watched the first few seasons over and over back in the day. It was a bit paint by numbers if you'd been a fan of similar things previously - the X-Files and Buffy probably being the obvious connect, but it didn't matter really, it was good, the writing was solid enough, great aesthetic, and the directing and chemistry were perfect.
Unfortunately the writing just went off around series 4-5. Without giving too much away it felt like they only planned that far then got renewed past the end of the plan. There was always a connection to Christian mythology in the lore episodes right from the start but there was creativity with it to begin with; after that cut off point it turned into a generic heaven and hell narrative padded with dramaz and fan service. The fan service worked for the most part because it rallied a hoarde who will not acknowledge it's flaws or accept criticism and downvote everything they disagree with, so bear that in mind reading a lot of these reviews.
There was an earlier episode, just around the time it started to go stale that involved an in-universe parody presented as a vision from a prophet with a few details that were exaggerated for comedic effect or otherwise just *off*. By the time the series ended it seemed to have more in common with the parody than it did the show I started watching.
The Hunt (2020)
Ahead of it's time, I think.
If Twitter politics ever reminds you of being a child caught between warring parents who both insist that they're right, both act like idiots, and really, really don't care about you in any context but "winning" then I highly recommend this film. It was brutal, unapologetic, and very, very funny. I expect that it will age very well as future generations start to look back on this decade with the derision it deserves.
Brews Brothers (2020)
Ahaha what
This is stupid, I love it. Really dumb humour. That is all. Honestly if you need more you probably won't like it. Prudes, hipsters and lightweights need not make the attempt.
Medical Police (2020)
Hmm
There's a fine line between satire and straight up dumping on something, between flippancy and being a try-hard edgelord. This plays with the line. Every time it seems to jump into edgelord territory it comes back and does something unexpected. Maybe that was intentional, in which case respect, but I honestly couldn't say. You'd need to get meta and start looking up the writers to find out and I'm not quite curious enough to bother tbh. I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt and watch it from the perspective of a satire of a satire, and in that context it was fairly entertaining.
It is unsurprising that it's getting bad reviews, intentional edgelording or not it still reeks of something having been written to make fans feel smug and to purposefully alternate teh normies. If you really dislike it I expect the worst way you could insult it is to ignore it.
In from the Cold (2022)
Why?
I really can't work out who the writers thought they were writing this for. It's got all the Red Scare, nationalist stereotyping, and "parental figure comes out of retirement to kick ass" content that, let's say more mature audiences typically eat like candy, but then it has all the sexual content, bad CGI, and choppy storytelling / camera work that, in my experience, usually makes the same people go cold. Filling a thing full of contrasting elements that some will love and some will hate regardless of which side of the fence you're on won't make both sides enjoy it, it will make them both switch off. Bizarre.
I've pushed through and watched most of it now anyway because I'm compulsive like that, but honestly I lost track of what was going on about 3 episodes ago, now I'm just watching fight scenes (which in their defence are mostly alright tbf). The plot (up to the point where I still knew what it was) was fairly bland anyway, not at all something that would usually demand full attention. Now, I am generally quite fond of bad action and sci-fi because it's easy enough to dip in and out of whilst you're doing something else, but unfortunately unless you speak English, Russian, Spanish, and Mandarin you're not going to follow this as background viewing, hence my being completely lost at this point.
So to conclude, the target audience is a 60 year old teenager who has a short attention span but speaks 4 languages. Great stuff.
The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window (2022)
What even lol
Ok this is hilarious. I didn't even realise it was a spoof when Netflix spat it at me but it didn't take long to figure out. Very clever, subtle, dry, meta humour. It's like "it's so awful I love it" but on purpose but so natural with it. You'll either get it or you won't.
Disjointed (2017)
Meh.
Eh. Maybe it's a cultural thing, I'm not American, but this just isn't that funny. It's not awful but it's just kind of trying too hard. I don't know why I was surprised tbh, it's the same guy as Big Bang and it's as forced and stereotypical in its portrayal of stoners as that was with geek culture. Oh well. I didn't have anything better to do today anyway, no time lost. I'll probably forget all the characters names by tomorrow though.