I was a huge fan of That 70’s Show when it was out, and I’ve rewatched it a few times already. I was excited when That 90’s Show was announced because I thought we were getting a proper reboot. I spent a lot of effort avoiding all the news and rewatching the original series because I didn’t want this review to be affected by nostalgia. Unfortunately, this series makes it impossible to separate nostalgia from my critique because it is a carbon copy of the original. I don’t know who this series was made for, but it wasn’t for me.
The series is about Eric and Dona’s daughter, Leia, and her summer in Point Place, Wisconsin. Leia is an awkward nerd who on her latest visit to Wisconsin, has made her first group of friends. The series focuses on the adventures she has that summer.
The adventures Leia has are pretty much the same ones they had in the original, only slightly modernized to fit the 90’s aesthetic. You get the same story beats, jokes, and even characters but with a lot less of the charm. This series might have been better if I hadn’t watched the original.
I foolishly expected this to be a continuation of the narrative we got in That 70’s Show. I was expecting an adult gang that has grown from their experiences and has to deal with a more modern canvas of issues. The original cast does appear, but only for short cameos where they exist as jokes for a quick laugh. They have learned nothing and added nothing to the story.
The cast is great, and they give a fantastic performance, but the writing holds them back. You get the same group of characters, story beats, and even jokes that have only been slightly adapted to fight the 90s aesthetic. I would have preferred this to be its own show that didn’t have to constantly rely on the nostalgia of the original for it to be entertaining.
My biggest issue with this series is how overbearing the live audience tracks are. The constant laughter and reactions get old and distracting instantly. There are scenes where the audience laughs after every single line of dialogue. I get that it was a callback to the original series, but it just highlights how painfully unfunny this series can be.
That said, this series isn’t terrible. When it tried to do its own thing, it earned its laughs. There are even some nice character moments. Unfortunately, there aren’t enough of these moments to save this series for me. More often than not, I found myself bored by the characters, story lines, and jokes.
If you are a fan of the original series, I don’t think it’s worth it. It is okay, but it is trapped repeating the same thing in a lesser package. If you haven’t seen the original series, there are funnier sitcoms worth more of your time. I wouldn’t go out of my way to watch it, but it is on Netflix if you need it.
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today!
Series Review: Spriggan (2022)
Spriggan Is anime’s generic attempt at bringing Indiana Jones to the future. While a neat concept, it feels rushed and underdeveloped. It may not be the worst anime I’ve seen, but it makes it hard to recommend.
Spriggan is about a secret government agency whose mission is to collect powerful ancient artifacts and keep them from the clutches of evil. The story focuses on Yu, a talented high school kid who, with the help of a powerful mech suit, goes travels the world hunting these powerful relics. Each episode focuses on the lore and retrieval of a different artifact.
Right off the bat, I am not a fan of the art style. It feels stiff, fragmented, and cheap most of the time. The combat is okay, but it is anticlimactic. Most of the problems are solved by ex-Machina. My biggest issue with this anime is that Yu is a generic cocky male protagonist who is perfect. Most of his dialogue involves him being cocky about his skills, and it gets annoying. When he does struggle or start to get beat, he is saved at the perfect time, and the whole thing doesn’t matter.
Another issue I have with this series is that there isn’t a good villain to drive the narrative. This series revolves around different organizations whose motives are uninspired and lazy. Most people are evil for the sake of being evil. It doesn’t help that they are destined to lose to Yu.
The problem with this anime is that it is limited to six short episodes. While I appreciate that they didn’t drag this out as much as they could have, it isn’t long enough to build the world or develop its characters. Each episode is a different adventure, and all of them are generic. This series left such a small impression on me that I have already forgotten what it was about.
You can stream Spriggan on Netflix, but it isn’t worth it. It looks cheap, the story is rushed, and there isn’t anything worth watching in it. I could make the case of throwing it on for background noise, but there are better anime out there more worthy of your data.
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today! You can also try Amazon Prime with my Affiliate link!
Series Review: Hot Skull (2022)
Hot Skull is an interesting take on the zombie genre. While the series may not feature the traditional zombie, it does feature the traditional tropes. The series is in Turkish, but there is dubbing in multiple languages. I always recommend watching shows in their original language, but the English dubbing for this is pretty good.
Hot Skull takes place in the middle of a global pandemic. The world fears a contagious disease that transfers through audio. People affected will start rambling endlessly, slowly forgetting who they are. People will turn to ramblers if they are exposed to rambling, so people live their lives wearing noise-canceling headphones. The government has taken advantage of the chaos and uses the pandemic to control its citizens. In a world without a cure, hope falls to Murat, the only person immune to the disease. Now the race is on to find a cure before the government silences Murat forever.
I enjoyed Hot Skull, but it isn’t without its faults. The series looks great and has a decent story, but some poorly written speeches were hard to sit through. It wasn’t bad enough to give up on the series, but I did zone out a few times. You notice it a lot whenever it deals with the peaceful protest group, but you can always skip around.
What I liked about this series is how it criticizes authoritarian governments. Hot Skull does a good job of showing how the government took advantage of the situation. Travel becomes restricted, curfews are set in place, the public narrative is heavily edited, and the government is not afraid to use excessive violence on what they consider to be dissidence. Civil unrest brews in the shadows because people no longer have control of their lives. I just wish they did a better job with the rebels. The group seems a bit lazily written and only exists to move the plot forward at points.
I enjoyed Murat as a protagonist. Murat is the only person who is immune to the disease, but he spends his time in hiding. As he becomes exposed to the cold reality around him, he becomes more involved in the revolution. It is cool to see his transformation as he becomes more active in finding a cure. His transition to heroism may not be fluid, but it was well enough for what this is.
The only complaint I have about this series is that it slows down halfway through. As Murat gets more active about his role in the pandemic, the series gets bogged down with a lot of revolutionary ideology that I didn’t have much interest in. It might be a translation issue, but there are a lot of sappy speeches about freedom and martyrs I didn’t care for either. The pacing picks up eventually, but not until I was ready to give up on the series.
Overall, the series stands pretty well. There was a good amount of suspense and tension. It handled a lot of its themes and criticism well. It may not be the best story, but it will pass the time. While I don’t see myself rewatching this series or waiting for a second season, I’m glad I watched it. I’d say that if you like the zombie genre and want to see something different, give this series a try. It’s better than the recent resident evil movies. Otherwise, wait till you have nothing to watch.
It is available for streaming on Netflix.
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today! You can also try Amazon Prime with my Affiliate link!
Series Review: Inside Man (2022)
Inside Man has become my new obsession. If you don’t fall in love with this quirky murder thriller, we did not watch the same show. Stop reading and go watch this show now.
The series is like a quirky version of The Silence of the Lambs. Stanley Tucci plays a brilliant man on death row who can solve any mystery. The series focuses on his latest job where he must help a reporter find her missing friend. Janice has been locked in a basement, and her time is running out. Will they be able to find her before her time runs out?
I loved this show. The acting is fantastic, the story is fun, and it was the perfect length for a series. The series is structured as a mystery that only Stanley Tucci can solve. The show will constantly cut between the crime and Stanley Tucci trying to solve it. My only complaint is that Stanley Tucci’s character is a bit too omnipotent as he can solve the mystery with the smallest amount of clues, but it is fun to watch him work through it. It is fair to say that every character in this series is a bit exaggerated for satire, but it is done brilliantly. The cast give a fantastic performance and I urge you to watch this show based on this fact alone. I dare you to hate any of these characters, morality aside of course. I’m afraid I can’t do a deeper dive because I am afraid that I will ruin the experience.
The story is a bit ridiculous as it constantly escalates toward its finale, but it is a good story nonetheless. I believe it is meant to act as a metaphor for the lengths that people will go to under the crippling pleasures of desperation. It isn’t meant to be a dive into human pathology, but rather to satirize the genre.
This series is a small commitment and one that you can knock out in a sitting. You don’t need to know extensive lore, and there isn’t much filler to pad the time. This series proves that you can tell a good story in a little bit of time. I hate watching series that are stretched out because big streaming wants you to sit on your couch longer. Not every show needs to be 10 episodes with multiple seasons. Tell your story in as long as it takes, and leave.
This is the fun series that you need in your life. Go stream it on Netflix.
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today!
Series Review: The Sandman (2022)
I can’t recommend The Sandman enough. This is fantasy at its finest. The story is amazing, the acting is mostly great, and it is such a beautiful show. I can’t speak on how close of an adaptation it is to the comic, but I can speak on what a good show this is.
The series deals with the gods and forces outside of the human realm that affects the human experience. Forces like death, desire, and dreams are manifested as gods, each with its own domain to rule. The natural order of things gets complicated when a series of events lead to the capture of Dream. Years go by, and Dream’s kingdom crumbles. The show focuses on a newly freed Dream as he tries to rebuild his Kingdom and his power.
I have been impatiently waiting for any new fantasy to hold me over till the next season of The Circle of Time. This definitely helped soothe my impatient heart, but now I fear I will be impatiently waiting for this next season of The Sandman as well. It is safe to say that I am obsessed with this show, and there is a good reason for that. The narrative is interesting, full of well-generated tension, interesting villains and heroes, and some pretty fantastic world-building. I love that Dream isn’t a traditional hero. Dream will often act whit his own interest in mind because he is not limited by human morals. He will slowly realize that this is not always in the universe’s best interest, and his thinking slowly changes as a result of his experience. It is very cool to see a hero who learns from his journey as he deals with his flaws and inhibitions.
The narrative style for this show is unique. Each arc seems to have its own voice, keeping the series fresh and exciting. It is nice to see fantasy that doesn’t follow the usual tropes. My only complaint is with the inconsistency of the acting. Some actors give amazing performances, while others do their best but have awkward delivery. It isn’t a terrible problem, but it is noticeable. I also had an issue with the pacing. I felt it slows down towards the end, but I never felt like it was unwatchable.
This is a great series and you can watch it on Netflix!
Series Review: Paper Girls (2022)
Paper Girls is an interesting take on the time travel narrative that I am sure you will enjoy. Where most time travel narratives create a complex journey full of plot holes and redundancies, Paper Girls creates a creative narrative about womanhood within an epic time travel adventure. The series focuses on a group of four girls who stumble into a war that has waged through time. Stranded outside of their own time, the girls must figure out a way to get back home and maybe save the universe in the process.
The show is incredibly fun with great actors and a fantastic narrative. The leads are well written and share some great chemistry. They are fun to watch on screen. I absolutely love how they handle time travel. The science is pretty reasonable, making this a very plausible Sci-Fi adventure. I loved that there wasn’t any over-the-top scientific babble. You won’t be overloaded with convoluted plot points, but instead, be told a very sweet story about friendship and growing up.
At its core, Paper Girls is a coming-of-age story. Each girl is just trying to survive being a teenager dealing with the circumstances they are dealt. Each girl wants to find out who they are in life. This adventure forces them to make the difficult choices that define who they will be. It is a well-written adventure, and watching the girls grow throughout is well worth the investment.
If you like Sci-Fi Fantasy like Stranger Things, this is a good show to tide you over till the new season. I didn’t know what to expect when I picked this up, but it has easily become one of my favorites. Check it out on Amazon if you have a Prime Membership.
TV Series Review: Chloe (2022)
Amazon has seriously upped its game when it comes to its original programming. There are enough new originals begging for your time, and Chloe is one that is well worth yours. This psychological thriller will keep you at the edge of your seat as you watch Becky trying to piece together the truth of her childhood friend’s death. This is all I can say without spoiling your experience, but believe me, when I say that this is a ride worth getting on.
The show has a fantastic cast to tell a very fascinating narrative full of twists, lies, and missunderstandings. With each new piece of evidence found, your assumptions and perspective will constantly change until the big reveal at the end. It is a wonderful build-up to a pretty satisfying ending. This show deals with a few dark themes as it contrasts the fantasy that is created through social media against the dark reality of the life that happens in between the pictures. This is a psychological thriller so be prepared for dreams, memories, and delusions to blend into the narrative. It is masterfully done as it is able to tell a unique story that will keep most guessing till the end.
If you like mysteries, drama, and thrillers, this is a great one. Best of all, there are no annoying cliffhangers. This narrative is nicely packaged into one concise season. Watch this on Amazon if you have a prime membership.
