Iāve reviewed this show every year, so I suppose in my own way, I do pay tribute to South Park. Bigger, Longer and Uncut is still my second favourite comedy of all time and probably in my top ten musicals. Iām a council estate boy. Iām not that cultured.
The constant refrain about The Simpsons is that it isnāt as good as it used to be. South Park is in a small pantheon of animated shows that hasnāt gotten worse as it has gone along. In the last two seasons, itās probably a better show than it has ever been.
Every season has had one or two utterly standout episodes. I see from Bearās references that heās a big fan of āScott Tenorman Must Dieā, as he should be. I was floored by that episode when I first saw it. Of course, council estate boy didnāt realise the finale had a Shakespearian flavour until one had looked it up on Google. It seemed even smarter then.
The show has always been famous for having a tight turnaround time. Construction paper made it possible to be up to the minute topical. Theyāve only ever missed the deadline once. These days, the show uses computers, evidently freeing up Matt and Trey to make a better show. I wouldnāt say that there were too many bad episodes of South Park, but not all of them are controversy generators. Some episodes are just about the stupid things young boys believe, get up to and imagine when theyāre eight years old. They wonāt split the sides and may not have universal appeal, but those are some of my faves.
The last two seasons have both been very arc-focused. Last season was a triumph; mostly made me laugh. Thereās a particularly affecting scene that made me cry. While there has been nowt blubworthy about the first episode Iāve seen of season 20 (twenty!), theyāre continuing the plot from last season, yet still giving themselves that framework to do the up-to-the-minute topical stuff, not least because their arc plot is about the Presidential Race between a Giant Douche and a Turd Sandwich, and thatās topical enough anyway.
The first episodeās other focus is the sitting down at national anthems furore we saw recently. They decide they need a reboot and enlist JJ Abrams to do it. Iāll leave it for there, but I do want to give this fantastic show some fucking propers. Historians of the future will love it, especially if theyāre uncouth cunts from council estates
Indeed top telly - Ed Harris is one scary motherā¦ and I have this thought in back of head already that they are going to mess with us on who is and who is not ārealā as well as exploring the the moral maze of synthetic beings developing a conciousnessā¦ going to be an excellent and intreging showā¦
Just watched the season finale of Ripper Street. Nicely set up for what can only be the last series now. Mightly improved from when it started with good turns from the leading and supporting actors. Pretty gory too.
The thing that ābugsā me is that perhaps the genius of the original movie is that you never know WHY. What went wrong is not covered it was the consequences that were so gripping.
Then JJ Abrams gets involved and almost from moment 1 we are observing that missing why and with such an obvious simple and yet mind shattering twist.
Suddenly an entirely new universe opens up. AI and humanity become ethical questions that it looks like the show will explore.
Couldnāt help but compare that to I Robot.
The PROBLEM may well be that opening sequence. I know that Mrs D_P was unnerved at the āgo shagging the corpseā line and walked out when Dolores got raped.
Not sure it will ever get the viewing figures if it loses female viewers so fast.
It set up the story superbly but may have been a bit TOO early in the storyline.
I watched it again and have to say that the John Ford would have been proud of some of the cinematography & I was waiting for John Wayne to turn up.
I think it is going to entertain us and utterly fuck our minds up at the same time.
Cannot wait for episode 2.
If you missed it then catch up quick. Itās going to create a lot of debate & memos. If nothing else it will fill the gap on TV until GoT returns
Oh, and just why did that cute technician chick snow the robot hooked?
Anyway episode 1 had WAY more Bewbs & even Willieās than GoT did when it kicked off. Even has shagging 3D printed skeletons SHAGGING in the title sequence.
Waiting for Westworld caught the premier of Sarah Jessica Parker new show Divorce by accident.
Keep your woman - happy make her watch it for that Sex & the City vibe. BUT to my eternal shame I paid attention for 30 seconds & realised it is REALLY dry and funny.
A good time filler waiting for Westworld
Meanwhile do HBO hold a monopoly on using the Cello in TV show themes?
As per the article, LoG catch phrases are bandied about in the C_S household to the bemusement / embarrassment of the kids.
My favourite is from (Barbara?) the transgender cab driver in a deep northern voice ( used by me when its cold) āā¦me nipples are like bulletsā¦ā
Iāve been catching up on Boardwalk Empire, something I did a few episodes of back in the day, but never got around to seeing more of. Iām close to the end of the second season. The show looks and sounds fantastic. The performances are excellent too, especially Buscemi as the morally ambiguous Enoch āNuckyā Thompson. Thereās a viciousness about it that you normally only see in other gangster movies (rarely on TV).
I could probably so without _some _of the kitchen sink stuff, and having already spent a couple of seasons in this world and seeing stakes raised very high already, I do wonder how the show did in seasons 3, 4 and 5. At this point, most of the main characters have been in conflict with each other. Iām a little concerned that Iām going to see a lot of rinse and repeat later on.
A few more words on Boardwalk Empire. Iām into the third season now and am starting to appreciate what a genius show it is. Much of the show is seen through the perspective of Margaret Schroder, someone who comes into Nuckyās world, having a fair idea of what he is, but prepared to not look too hard because of his affable traits and his outwardly caring side.
We, the audience, get to see more than she sees, but what I didnāt realise until recently is that the show has been playing the same trick on us as is played on Mrs Schroder. Even with all the additional information we have, mid-way into the third season, thereās still a sense that we simply donāt know what Nucky is capable of.
Started watching Season 5 of American Horror Story (Hotel) last night and true to form, itās an intruiging mix of shock, nightmarish macabre and weirdness.
If you havenāt seen American Horror Story before, each season features an entirely different tale (different subject matter, era, characters ā¦ everything.) Previous season have featured stories centred around a haunted house, an asylum, a freak show and a New Orleans witches coven.
What links them is the cast, an eclectic group of actors/actressās selected from a common pool throughout. The standard of acting is very high. Some unknowns, a few whoās faces are familiar but you canāt put a name to them and a smattering of star names. Kathy Bates has featured in a few of the seasons as has Jessica Lange, who has put in some stunning performances you wouldnāt have known her capable of, on the back of some of her rather average big screen efforts in the past. Thereās also been some āoff the wallā cameos for instance Stevie Nicks in āCovenā.
For this season, Lady Gaga is wonderfully macabre in the episode Iāve watched and it looks like sheās going to be heavily featured as a central character rather than just a name to put on the poster.
I havenāt bought into all of the previous AHS offerings. The āten episodeā seasons are slow burners and often itās not until half way through that youāre completely hooked in. Season 4 āFreak Showā for instance, I saw the first 5 and then kinda lost interest. However I had watched them quite disjointedly over a couple of month period, so thatās probably why.
On the whole thoā AHS is great viewing. Itās dark, mysterious and very unusual. Full of shock and intruige with plenty of blood and gore (though āslasher movieā itās certainly not). Itās a total thought provoking madness fest and well worth the watch if you like to be creeped out.
