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My scoring headcanon:
1: Garbage,
2: Terrible,
3: Bad,
4: Below Average,
5: Average,
6: Above Average,
7: Good,
8: Great,
9: Perfect,
10: Changed my definition of perfect and made me re-evaluate my standards
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
Hell's Kitchen (2005)
Great
The long running American counterpart to Gordon Ramsay's original British series, each season we follow anywhere from 12 to 20 contestants to determine a single winner, who will ultimately be offered a $250,000 head chef position at one of Ramsay's restaurants. Known for his vulgarity and harsh treatment of the contestants, over the now >20 seasons Ramsay's charm somehow still shines through; you can tell how deeply he not only cares about cooking but genuinely cares about cultivating and improving the chefs' talent and skills. Watching such a long running competition series is an interesting study in how the format is altered season to season, however I must say they essentially stick to the same format over its entire run, with many fan-favourite mini challenges making their appearances each season with only minor tweaks. They do switch things up a bit in some later seasons, bringing back some older contestants, only having 20-somethings compete, or having a young vs old team, however the majority is the expected men vs women in the blue and red kitchens respectively. Contestants are eliminated each episode until teams are combined to receive their beloved black jackets, and then finally a single winner is crowned. Throughout its entire run, Ramsay is always the star, front and centre, and he's built his impressive culinary empire around the show. Beyond cooking, he's one of the most competent business minds in the game. With a 23rd season airing now, and a 24th already filmed I think there's plenty more to come, and somehow it's never overstayed its welcome. If you like reality tv, and don't mind a few profanities, would highly recommend.
Acht Stunden sind kein Tag (1972)
Perfect
Created and directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as a family series for WDR of Germany, this was my first experience with Fassbinders work and while perhaps not exactly representative of his normal subject matter, I think that makes it a perfect first impression. Centring around a small family in Cologne, Germany, we primarily follow couple Jochen (Gottfried John) and Marion (Hanna Schygulla), a tool factory worker and a newspaper office advertiser who fall in love at first sight. Over 5 near film-length episodes we expand to the rest of each's families, their coworkers and friends, getthing a glimpse into life in working class Germany at the time. The plot loosely covers Jochen as he tries to improve his workplace, however falls to the backdrop as each episode themes around two different couples from the group. The acting is fantastic, as is the writing, and the relationship dynamics between all was perfect, even those relationships I hated. The series doesn't shy away from difficult topics, so content warning around spousal abuse, as it navigates the many relationships, troubles, and triumphs throughout. All the cast was great; Gottfried John, what a face, and Grandma played by Luise Ullrich quickly became the fan favourite. The directing of course is phenomenal, with many shots blocked like a Baroque painting. The way Fassbinder sets up his scenes is honestly a masterclass in itself. He also has this quirk of always starting a scene with a zoom shot, and ending with another pan zoom off to some random object in the background, which was consistent if not interesting choices. I personally really enjoyed his quirks, in both writing and directing. If you like family dramas, especially those that make you feel and think, I could not recommend this one more, probably the best I've seen in a good while. Highly recommend.
Over the Garden Wall (2014)
Beyond Perfection
One of my all time favourite Fall series, Over the Garden Wall is a short 10 episode animated miniseries by Patrick McHale for Cartoon Network, following Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean), two brothers lost in the unknown woods who must find their way home. Each episode continues their adventure as they meet new inhabitants of the woods, both friendly and horrifying. As an animation the visuals are stunning, the voice actings is great, and as a narrative there's just something so comforting in their travels. Not to mention all the songs slap. The spooky parts are legitimately spooky, especially for a show leaning towards a younger audience, and all the characters are unique and fun, and definitely feel influenced by McHales work on both Adventure Time and The Marvellous Misadventures of Flapjack prior. I always smile the entire time this thing is on, and have now watched it through for what must be the 5th or 6th time. I also watched a good amount of the commentary track this time around, and hearing McHale talk about his work was so interesting, and the amount of self doubt and criticism he had (and still has) for the show was surprising. What we ended up with may not have been precisely planned but the hard work of all involved made it turn out perfectly. Maybe I'm just nostalgic but I'll probably watch it again before the months out.
Van-pires (1997)
Terrible
At a reported budget of over $5 million for only 13 episodes, at a time when CGI was all the rage, we have Van-Pires, a half CGI, half live action adventure about four teens struck by a falling meteor who subsequently turn into half human - half vehicle hybrids and must use their newly found powers to fight off the evil "Trac-ula" and the rest of the "van-pires", before the suck all the gas out of every vehicle around the globe. All the fighting car segments are CGI, and its some of the most egregious CGI I've ever seen I must say, with live action segments between the action as the teens chill in the junkyard and get help from their mentor "Van He'll Sing", a hippie who owns said junkyard. Together they form the "Motor-Vaters", the team destined to save earth. Nothing but terrible puns, all the dialogue is car related in the worst ways, and none of the plots are particularly interesting. It's very low effort, low intelligence tv for kids, but apparently even the kids didn't like it as was cancelled after only its short single first season. I got through this solely as something on in the background as I did other things, so only paid full attention to maybe 10% of it, but as a drinking game or if you're someone who seeks out truly bad tv like myself, maybe check it out. But I can honestly say this is the worst thing I've seen this year, and yeah its maybe one of the worst things of all time, so if you're one for that kind of thing go for it, otherwise would not generally recommend.
Chef! (1993)
Good
Created by Peter Tilbury and starring Lenny Henry as the lead, we follow Gareth Blackstock, Michelin star head chef at Le Chateau Anglais where his quick temper and firm standards keep the food coming at some of the highest quality in the country. The writing is fun, and the acting decent, although not always the best, but as a comedy the smirks behind the eyes of the lead Henry grew on me over its run. And as a comedy the show remains lighthearted and funny mostly throughout. There are considerable drama elements, playing on some storylines quite bold for 1993, and I particularly enjoyed his relationship with his wife Janice (Caroline Lee-Johnson) and his one of his junior chefs Everton (Roger Griffiths). Was great the first couple seasons. Only three short seasons, the third moved in a considerably worse direction compared to the rest, they really change a few of the character dynamics in ways I didn't like and shifts much more heavily into a relationship drama with the odd laugh track, which narratively just felt awkward, let alone disappointing. That said the first two seasons were a treat and definitely strong enough to get a solid recommendation. If you like cooking centred series, especially comedies, yeah, its quite good.
London Irish (2013)
Good
Written by Lisa McGee for Channel 4, we follow four young Irish expats in London, and the frankly horrible shenanigans they get up to in a typical week. No grand narrative, each episode is another day of whatever the group gets up to, from ruining a friend's wake to drunkenly getting married to a stranger. All the characters are unique and each fun, although none redeemable, and the stories never go in expected directions. The acting is very good, props to all involved, and was fun to see Ardal O'Hanlon show up for a bit. The writing is fantastic, but what else can you expect from Lisa McGee, of course known for her more recent Derry Girls. Only a single season of 6 episodes, the show got some flak from the public for being too offensive, which sure tracks, it is very dark and very adult, but overall I thought was a fun time and perhaps that says more about me. Personally I think there's a fairly bold line between stereotypes for commentary coming from a place of experience and representation vs just stereotypes written through some form of ignorance or laziness. This definitely feels the former to me and doesn't deserve the treatment it got, let alone to get cancelled, but maybe 2013s audience just wan't quite ready for it yet. But who am I to say. I wish there was more, but I'm glad we got what we did, I'm so looking forward to seeking out more from McGee, she's great. Would recommend.
Game Over (2004)
Bad
Created by some of those behind 3rd Rock from the Sun and starring a decent lineup of voice actors, we follow 'Rip' Smashenburn (Patrick Warburton), a video game race driver who by day drives in circles in his own game, but by night heads back to his average sitcom family, with his Tomb Raider inspired wife Raquel Smashenburn (Lucy Liu), and two teenage kids. All 3D CGI animated, the show looks quite terrible given its 2004, nearly a decade past the likes of ReBoot, which itself followed a similar plot from within a video game and was one of the earliest 3D rendered shows, which makes this one seem even worse. Not only does Game Over look dated, but its jokes and subject matter are more than questionable. An "adult" sitcom, the jokes are never truly vulgar, but there is certainly a lot more tasteless sexual humour than I expected, and some surprisingly gross moments, although at the same time plays it safe more often than not. The jokes are also quite dated and superficial, even for the time it aired, with very little actually having to do with video games, and more just making a family sitcom but that takes place in a game, however even that isn't consistent or fleshed out. The references themselves tend to be for that older audience, meaning the games noted were themselves a decade past their prime when this even aired, again with the jokes being more of the "remember this existed?" form than anything clever. Although was cool to see Oddworld or Crash Bandicoot show up even if just for a second. Only 6 episodes airing before its quick cancellation, I was secretly hoping for more from this one, but yeah it honestly its just really bad, and not in any good ways.
The Rez (1996)
Above Average
A spin-off series of the earlier film Dance Me Outside, which I had originally watched just as a precursor to this, and glad I did, the series is quite good. Honestly I enjoyed it even more than the film, but that's true for most series. Following a group of late teens on the rez somewhere in Ontario, we get a lot of familiar young adult drama with relationships, parties, and general listlessness, with plenty of life lessons in the subtext and episode take-aways. Like the film before was produced by Bruce McDonald, and the writing was quite good, although the acting was often hit-and-miss, and they also never really addressed the events of the film before it, not that they had to I guess. Ryan Rajendra Black as the lead, Silas Crow, was pretty good, and was fun seeing both young Tamara and Jennifer Podemski, who I knew from smaller roles in the more recent Reservation Dogs. Gary Farmer also appears, who is always a treat, and surprisingly even David Cronenberg shows up for a small role, which was quite fun. Only two short seasons, if you like these kinds of dramas, this one was pretty good, I'd say check it out if you can find it.
Miracle Workers (2019)
Above Average
Created by Simon Rich and produced by Lorne Michaels, we follow an anthology cast of characters through various time periods and settings, featuring Daniel Radcliffe, Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Viswanathan, Jon Bass, and Karan Soni. The first season most closely tracks with the series title, following some angels (Radcliffe and Viswanathan) in heaven trying to prevent the end of the world being led by a lazy, incompetent God played by Steve Buscemi. I enjoyed the first season, however wasn't sure how the world building was going by the end, but was quite pleased when second season revealed this would be an anthology series, meaning same casts of actors however completely* (mostly anyway) unrelated story lines. This gave a lot more room to play with the people and places, and not care so much about grand consistency, which worked in its favour for a good bit. Second season was probably my favourite, followed close by the third, which take place during the medieval times and on the Oregon trail respectively. The series writing never forgot it was a comedy in great ways, and I let out a gut laugh somewhere at least once per episode. Of course some of the acting is hit-and-miss, I ultimately didn't love Buscemi as much as I hoped I would, but he did well within the ensemble, and ultimately Jon Bass quickly became my favourite; I'm very looking forward to see him in more stuff. Radcliffe of course often shines, fully committing to the ridiculous in ways only he can, and I think often in comedies things can be more funny when the actors take it completely seriously. The fourth season tanks a bit, and its plot + humour primarily relies on other tv / movie references, which was honestly a bit of a let down, but I gather the earlier seasons were based on pre-existing novels / short stories, which explains why they were a little more solid narratively. Ultimately, its a decent comedy, and while I wish the seasons were a bit more cohesive as stories, both within themselves and as a whole, I laughed a good bit so must have been pretty good. Would recommend.
Canadian Antiques Roadshow (2004)
Great
Modelled of course off the BBC classic and hosted by Valerie Pringle, I for starters must say the PBS Antiques Roadshow is one of my favourite all time shows and is still the goat, however this was quite good for those that would like more of the same, but Canadian. Some of the appraisers had a bit of on camera struggles, as most would in that sort of situation, so we don't get the all the calm and comfortable demeanours of those in the longer running series before it, but I'm sure that's something that would have strengthened in time if given the opportunity. Pringle as host served fine, although wasn't my favourite, though the selection of antiques was always interesting, that said I'm someone who just likes antiques. A difficult series to get your hands on, if you like the BBC or PBS originals and want more, I would certainly recommend, the franchise is great.
The Phantom Empire (1935)
Average
Starring Gene Autry as a fictionalized version of himself in his first serial role (was already a rising success on radio), we follow Autry on his radio ranch, in some undisclosed American southwest location, where each day at 2:00pm he is contractually obligated to make a daily live broadcast. All is thrown into chaos when he discovers the entrance to an ancient but far advanced civilization, Murania, living deep below the surface. Autry must ensure the safety of Earth with this new country, save his land from greedy prospectors trying to buy out his ranch and discovering Murania, all while ensuring his show always airs each afternoon. The special effects aren't good, and the writing is sometimes clever but otherwise fairly typical, and the cardboard robot costumes of the Muranians were always hilarious in an obviously unintended way. The series, all in black and white of course, aired as twelve 20 minute episodes in theatres across the US, and its inspiration of much at the time, including the following years Flash Gordon, could be seen clearly. Considered the first sci-fi western, to modern audiences, the mostly childish natures of the adventures won't appeal to most and the sci-fi elements fairly repetitive, so unless you're a big Gene Autry buff or fan of serial history I wouldn't likely recommend. That said I am both of those things, so I sought out watching it, and I can't say I'm upset I did, I had a good bit of fun with it. It's out there if you want it.
Watching Ellie (2002)
Average
Created by Brad Hall and airing for only two short seasons before cancellation on NBC, we follow Ellie Riggs, a struggling jazz singer currently in an affair with her married guitarist, and the general sitcom shenanigans her life gets up to. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as the lead in her first TV series role since Seinfeld, and also produces on the show along with her husband Hall. Pitched as a "real time" 22 minute sitcom, the beginning episodes feature a 22:00 minute countdown timer in the bottom corner, and episodes do claim to present in "real time", as in each episode represents 22 minutes of Ellie's life. A gimmick that's hardly noticed beyond timer, we still feature typical jumps and cuts, its not like anything is presented as a single take, and I'm doubtful many would notice this real time aspect of the show had it not been pointed out. The show itself is honestly decent, at least for the first season, where Darren Boyd appears as the guitarist and lover of Ellie, and Steve Carell appears as Edgar, the honestly horrible person of an ex-boyfriend. The show works as a generic comedy, although you can really tell things weren't written from any place of inspiration, but rather trying to replicated earlier formats and successes (cough Seinfeld). This is really felt second season when the entire show seemed to get a facelift and rewrite, bringing in laugh tracks that weren't previously present, and really turning up the bad daytime sitcom vibe. I enjoyed the characters the first season, as well as their dynamics, I think it would have grown into something pretty good if given the space to really figure itself out, but the horrible changes to the second season really killed off its luster, and it seems audiences agreed as it was pulled only 6 episodes in. Honestly a show I'd recommend checking out a few episodes of, especially its earlier ones, if you're a fan of Louis-Dreyfus (who isn't?), or want to see some young Steve Carell basically be Michael Scott. As for the show as a whole, pretty meh, I was hoping for a lot better.
Smartypants (2024)
Above Average
Created by Paul Robalino and hosted by Rekha Shankar, Smartypants is brings us into the inner sactums of the Smartypants Society, which brings us all sorts of presentations on the bizarre, informative, and of just made up stuff. A sort of sketch TedTalks given by a new guest 3 times per episode, the success of each slide show of course depends heavily on the topic and speaker, but there were a good few I quite enjoyed, at least one per episode. At only a single season so far, what we get on the surface is essentially what it is, all the presentations remain lighthearted and humorous, and sometimes the short Q&A portion they do after each is the funniest part. If you already have Dropout, it was fun, I caught it as new episodes came out, would recommend.
Twitch City (1998)
Good
Directed and produced by Bruce McDonald we follow Curtis (Don McKellar), a tv addict in Toronto, Canada who near refuses to leave his apartment and all the outlandish ways he goes about continuing and justifying that lifestyle. Honestly a show that is difficult to describe in a pitch, or even explain what it was after the fact, when the back of the box mentions inspiration from Marshall McLuhan and promises meta-commentary on television from within a satire laced sitcom itself, I was of course sold. Shot quite interestingly, although unfortunately a bit too dark and grungy for my tastes, the ascetic of the apartment felt something off about it, almost surreal, but very purposeful. Some sequences also utilize some neat tracking zoom shots that you typically don't see from sitcoms, theres interesting editing stylizations, and not to mention it being all single camera format. Without even getting into episode plots as its really something you just gotta experience yourself if you choose. Many circle around Rex Reilly, the in universe parody of Jerry Springer, played by both Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney across the two seasons which was fun to see, and throughout the show none of the characters are really good people in any sense, much the guests on the show he watches. Molly Parker joins as Hope, Curtis' roommates' girlfriend and eventual love interest, which was very fun, though unfortunately her character felt the most underwritten. It was also fun to see Al Waxman appear in the pilot, who I honestly wouldn't have recognized had it not been for wikipedia. The whole show feels a love letter to television, it the most cynical, almost depressed way, and I can understand why its gained its cult following. I honestly wanted to like this more than I ultimately did, but perhaps a show about a tv obsessed shut in hit a bit too close to home. If it sounds like something you'd enjoy, would recommend, was good if not a bit ridiculous.
Scener ur ett äktenskap (1973)
Great
A Swedish drama written and directed by Ingmar Bergman, we follow episodic snapshots of a couples lives over the course of 10 years of their marriage. Starring Liv Ullman as Marianne and Erland Josephson as her husband Johan, its a slow, heavier drama, as unfolds the complex and not so perfect relationship between the two. Featuring many long takes, the performances are both massive and equally impressive, and the writing was compelling while very raw and realistic. Shot simply but again with longer extended scenes in a single take, the series is mostly conversations between the two, so if you're not one for slow conversation type shows this probably isn't one for you, but for those that can take slower dramas, it really is something. I watched over a few days, and I must say its a show that effects you, I somehow felt the series weight even when I wasn't watching it. All that said I didn't love how it ended, but perhaps in time I'll grow to forgive it, however that said there is technically a sequel film produced much later in 2003 that perhaps I'd check out at some point. If you like dramas, especially older ones, definitely check this out, and there was also a theatrical version of this cut from scenes of these scenes if you're looking for something a bit shorter as well. Check it out if it seems your kind of thing.
Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998)
Average
Created by Toei Animation off the manga of the name name by Kazuki Takahasi, this Yu-Gi-Oh! Likely isn't the one you remember, if of course like me you grew up with the classic Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, its sudo-successor / revamp which was to launch a few years later in 2000. Originally starting that newer more recognizable version of the series, I eventually got very bored during mid-3rd season and decided to switch to this series instead. Again we follow the similar tale of Yugi, a freshman in highschool who solves his grandfather's millennium puzzle and unlocks the spirit of the shadow games within. Unlike the other, we focus much more on games generally, rather than the custom card game we all know, created for and marketed by that later show. Only a single season, we meet a lot of familiar characters and end up in similar locations. There's some surprising swearing, at least in the subbed version I was watching, which caught me off guard, but otherwise is generally the same kind of tamer kids anime. All in all, much like He-Man's predecessor Blackstar, as soon as some cartoon execs realized they could use a show as marketing material they decided to rebuild an existing trademark from the ground up as essentially promotional material. That said its something I fell for hard as a kid, I spent way too much of my parents money on Yugioh cards, and again still have so much nostalgia for now that I can't help but love it a little bit. Unless you've already watched other Yugioh series to death then certainly check this out, but probably wouldn't generally recommend, and honestly I don't think I'd recommend any other Yugioh save for the first couple season of Duel Monsters generally. Its fine, was fun, but nothing great.
Do Not Adjust Your Set (1967)
Average
Another sketch comedy from the same production studio as At Last the 1948 Show (and produced the same year), and featuring the "other half" of Monty Python 2 years before they would go on to form the troupe for Flying Circus, we see various mostly lighthearted sketched aimed at family viewing. As a show primarily with kids in mind many of the sketches are quite silly, however perhaps as a glimpse into the comedians later days there are a number of particularly dark, almost surreal sketches, even if just for a moment. Starring Denise Coffey, Eric Idle, Jerry Jones, Michael Palin, and David Jason, the format is fairly standard sketches back to back with laughter backing from a live audience. Also featuring the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band each episode, we get some music too, with the groups hit "Death Cab for Cutie" (another morbid bit, being a song about a car accident), which would of course go on to inspire the later band of the same name. Sadly like other series of this era, many of the episodes from its two season run are now considered lost, however those that have been persevered are still available in a decent format. As for the jokes, most have aged fine, again being a show primarily for kids its mostly tame goofy humour, however I'd be amiss not to content warning mention one quite racist minstrel sketch / song in the middle, so I would not recommend the show for a modern kid audience. However if you're a fan of Monty Python and want to check out their early stuff, its around and available preserved on YouTube and the like.
Whites (2010)
Average
Written by Matt King (Peep Show) and Oliver Lansley, and often stylized as Chef Whites, we follow Roland White (Alan Davies), as he struggles to feel inspired at the hotel attached restaurant for which he's executive chef. Davies is joined by his sous chef Bib (Darren Boyd) and manager Caroline (Katherine Parkinson) as the three deal with health inspectors, critics, and all the kitchen drama behind the scenes. The writing is fairly good, the jokes are decent, although more situational laughs so depends on your humour. A bit darker, the lead isn't particularly the best person, which can play well, but I found Alan Davies take sometimes more a bore than fun to watch, his character was just a bit too mopey and mean for me. The acting is generally fine, although not superb, and cut short after only a single season a lot of the plot lines end up with nowhere to go, which was a bit of a let down. Having seen a specific scene from this multiple times on various social feeds and wanting to check out the rest, I did, its fine. However the scene that went somewhat viral is pretty much the most funny one, and its also the episode one cold open, so you can maybe skip the rest unless it really seems your type of thing.
Fishing with John (1991)
Great
Created and hosted by John Lurie, we follow John as he's joined on global fishing adventures with celebrities. Only 6 short 22 minute episodes, we get guests Jim Jarmusch, Matt Dillon, Tom Waits, Willem Dafoe, and Dennis Hopper, each of which is bizarre, awkward, and almost surreal in their own ways. Sudo-scripted, there are some voice-over narrations (often nonsensical), along with some fake "plots", like surviving in the arctic with Dafoe, which are played up for camera. There's very little actual fishing, the show is mostly a satire, or maybe just a means to take some paid vacations. With the whole thing feeling of a very raw, unfiltered, version of a home movie, and at my second watch through it was just as fun as the first time. The series is slow, and is a lot of nothing, but there's something so charming in its budget production. It's definitely not a show I would recommend to most as many would find it pointless and boring, but in that mundanity I always find some greatness, charm, and fleeting serenity.
Tanner '88 (1988)
Good
Following fictional US presidential candidate Jack Tanner (Michael Murphy) for the Democratic party during the real 1988 election, Tanner '88 is one of the most interesting political comedies I've seen, while also one of the most rigidly dated series I know of. Originally airing sporadically during / leading up to said '88 election on HBO, the series was pitched as if Tanner was a true candidate for the real run, and even included cameos from active politicians, as well as a finale seemingly filmed at / during that year's Democratic National Convention. Created by cartoonist Garry Trudeau, directed by Robert Altman (M*A*S*H*), and produced by both, the scripts were apparently only mostly written, with much improvisation / pick ups on the day to fill out the scenes. It feels very documentary, although with constantly interesting angles and camera movement I must say, and we're often given long takes of conversational talking, with lots of background noise and obfuscation. It makes everything feel quite real, almost unedited, like we're watching the behind-the-scenes of a real campaign, which is obviously exactly the what the series is going for. Of course this strength is also its ultimate weakness, as the series is so rigidly locked in the campaign that unless you yourself experienced it, or have a vast interest in politics, you won't get most of the Dukakis, Kennedy, Reagan, and Dole humour. All in all, what we get feels like if NPR tried to make a comedy, and I mean that in the best ways. If its your type of thing you're going to love it, I thought it was quite good and certainly impressive.
At Last the 1948 Show (1967)
Above Average
A quite early British sketch show and a precursor to the eventual Monty Python and The Goodies, we're joined by comedians John Cleese, Marty Feldman, Graham Chapman, and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Hosted by Ami MacDonald, the series is a pretty typical sketch format even for being so early, sketches typically play one into another or are separated by a short studio segment with MacDonald. Considered lost for multiple years as the original studio had discarded all the original footage; the series was eventually rediscovered on multiple occasions and I ended up catching 5 episodes from a late DVD release of some Swedish archives, which unfortunately visually look quite poor but the jokes play the same. However in recent years even more has been found, and on YouTube you can find extant footage of 11 of the 13 original episodes. As for the sketches themselves, they're quite funny, and I did find myself laughing out loud more than once. Very few of the sketches are dated, in theres little pop culture or political humour in the show, which helps it remain funny even after so many years. If you're into sketch comedy, like older tv, or especially like the later works of Monty Python I'd certainly say give this a go.
Wilfred (2007)
Good
The original Australian Wilfred, created by and starring Jason Gann, we follow Adam (Adam Zwar), a depressed man who moves in with his new girlfriend Sarah (Cindy Waddingham), only to have to deal with her dog Wilfred (Gann), who appears as a grown man wearing a dog suit. Things quickly spiral as he deals with Wilfred's cigarette, weed, and alcohol bingeing, not to mention general terrorizing of the neighbourhood, all while trying to improve things with Sarah. Having seen a bit of the later Elijah Wood American version (also written by and starring Gann) I wanted to check this one out, and I must say I was quite impressed. The series has a darker tone, with some more morbid twists I wasn't expecting but did appreciate. That said, the series does feel a bit off in the second season, followed up a few years later. The first is quite tight, well written, though certainly off colour in good comedic ways, but the second season extends its reach a bit and feels a little all over the place. The lead characters you aren't expected to like, they generally aren't good people, but the show works in its offbeat way. Short at only 16 episodes, If you like dark comedies, especially if you've seen and liked the American Wilfred, then I'd certainly recommend this.
Fawlty Towers (1975)
Above Average
Created and written by then wife and husband Connie Booth and John Cleese, and starring the latter as the lead, we follow Basil Fawlty (Cleese), the proprietor of the Fawlty Towers hotel in Devon, England. Disgruntled and often quick to anger, Fawlty stumbles about his role interacting with guests, along with his wife and co-owner Sybil (Prunella Scales) and the staff, Connie and Manuel. With jokes ranging from continually stumbling around Manuel's broken english or making sure not to bring up WWII around a group of German guests, the narratives feel very 70s, and haven't all necessarily aged well. That said, it is still quite funny, I did find myself laughing out loud more than once over its short 2 season run. I enjoyed Basil and Sybil's relationship, although most of the other character dynamics were hit and miss, but of course mostly played for a laugh. Considered a classic by many and one of the greats, I didn't love this as much as I'd hoped, but as a big fan of Monty Python in general I wanted to make my way through the troupes other works. I can understand how some would love this, if you're a fan of this era British comedy and somehow haven't seen it, then yes I'd recommend.
Bodkin (2024)
Average
Created by Jez Scharf and produced by the Obamas, we follow Gilbert Power (Will Forte), an American podcaster in Bodkin, Ireland investigating a decades old cold case involving the disappearance of three people during a past Samhain festival. Joining Power is Emmy (Robyn Cara), his assistant, and journalist Dove (Siobhan Cullen), who reluctantly was assigned the case, and of course plays the darker depressed, somewhat alcoholic stooge. Forte largely plays himself, and brings the bubbly charm character to the story, with his assistant playing the middle, much like the other true-crime trio of podcasters series Only Murders in The Building. And like that series, this one struggles with tone, trying to create deeper / sad backstories, but ends up with ones that feel forced or too heavily written rather than genuine, and as a comedy things are awkwardly played off as jokes but nothings really laugh-out-loud funny. I really didn't mind things until towards the end when it gets kinda bonkers, it was a shame it really missed the mark for me. Neither of the leads seemed to me good journalists, let alone podcasters, so I really don't know what the show is trying to say by then end of it. Good news though, there's still time, as the end does hint towards more to come. The series was certainly well produced, and the acting is good enough. With this seasons mystery wrapped up, and short at only 7 episodes, if you like Will Forte's style of humour / characters, or are a big true crime fan, you may well like this, it was fine.
Blanche (1993)
Good
Following Blanche Pronovost (Pascale Bussieres), one of 9 siblings under a single mother in 1930's Quebec, and her impoverished upbringing, education in medicine in Montreal, and eventual young adult life as a nurse in rural Abitibi. A definite drama, with plenty of relationships, love, and loss, I teared up more than once. The series pulls hard at the heart strings with hardships and tough choices throughout, and as a period piece doing well to represent the times I couldn't help but sympathize and appreciate. Also along with a period piece even if more recent comes relatively large, impressive sets, and even more so gorgeous wardrobe, was great. Bussieres carries the show with her performance, honestly incredible, and the rest of the cast does well throughout, all was believable. The writing and plot was also good, but is where some lost me, especially towards the end, where things feel unnecessarily rushed and a bit out of place. I also realized just near the end that this was actually a sequel to a previous series Emelie (aka Les Filles de Caleb, and based on novels of the same name), which followed Blanche's mother (and absent father). Which perhaps explains some of the writing choices and certainly explains the kinda bad and very noticeable aging make up and fake beard on the young actors playing Blanche's parents, as they wanted to keep the same actors as the previous. Both series are available in french on Tou tv, however I'm unsure if the first series has ever been subbed for english. Finally, as the series is locked in the 4:3 ratio and is considerably grainy, I'm going to guess was filmed originally on tape, or tape is all that was preserved; these types of shows feel ripe for all the new upscaling capabilities. If you don't mind the picture quality, the series itself was a treat, I quite enjoyed it. If you like romance period dramas I would certainly recommend.