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This Week: Namaste, Billie!

Greetings, readers! What are you watching this week?

After years of avoiding the show that meant so much to me, the show that got me writing hundreds of pages of analysis only to leave me frustrated in the end, I am finally rewatching... Lost. I tried a couple of times before but it just didn't take – this is my first rewatch since it ended in 2010. I'm halfway through season two this time (hello, Michael Emerson!) so I'm pretty sure I'm going to get to the end.

The first season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was so good that it managed to push my daughter into finally watching all of original Star Trek with me. I am getting the impression that we're not the only ones. Am I wrong?

What are you all watching this week?

Logan Cox: Beautiful! Did my first rewatch a year or two ago — around ten years out from the series finale — and had a blast. Lost was the show that got my adolescent self into TV dramas, and it remains my personal favorite even after all this time.

Namaste, Billie!


Adam Jones: I'm watching Lois & Clark right now. It's cheesy as all get out, but the actors work so hard that it ends up being truly endearing. I, too, have been flirting with the idea of rewatching Lost, but it broke my heart once...

The wife and I have embarked on an ambitious watching of the DC shows on The CW, all in chronological order. I think we most look forward to Legends of Tomorrow and The Flash, because the others can take themselves too seriously. We just got through the "Invasion!" crossover.


Shari: You're not wrong, Billie. Watching Strange New Worlds made me want to go back to the original series as well. Unfortunately, I'm only a couple of episodes in. It's been a crazy couple of weeks so my viewing has been spotty. I'm still watching Sandman, and I've watched the first two episodes of She-Hulk. I also watched the first two episodes of Partner Track on Netflix, mostly because I wanted to see what Dominic Sherwood, of Shadowhunters fame, is doing now. It actually had more depth than I was expecting and it's addictive in a Shonda Rhimes kinda way. There was also a rewatch of The Devil Wears Prada. Maybe my viewing wasn't as spotty as I thought...

Victoria Grossack: I have heard so many good things about Strange New Worlds!

I am trying to finish a creative project. When I've got this going on, I don't have the emotional bandwidth for anything too compelling, so I've mostly been watching reruns and documentaries on Netflix. The Hidden Life of Pets was pleasant, with this one dog who communicated with her human by pressing various buttons. Another one on Dogs was actually so slow I turned away.

Also, in terms of fiction, there is one exception. I've been watching Kleo, about an assassin who worked for East Germany and who was wrongly locked up by her own country. I understand it's in the style of Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction, neither of which are really my preference. My husband really liked Kleo though, and it's good for my German. English is available.


Mikey Heinrich: I came down with COVID last weekend (I'm vaccinated and boosted, so it's relatively mild. Still feel totally wiped out though). Which has left me a little TV time, if a little less ability to concentrate than I'd like.

Finally watched the second half of Supergirl's final season. The season itself was OK, but the second half of the finale was one of the most ridiculously self indulgent things I've ever seen. And I was totally down for it. Loved every fan-servicy beat of it. Then watched everything post-Armageddon of last season of Flash. And... I mean, I still enjoy some things about it and I don't want to be one of those guys, but wow has it taken up permanent residence up its plot-related butthole. I don't hate it, but it really is time for it to end.

Now I'm finally watching Oz, which pairs nicely with a slight fever. It's so surreal and disturbing anyway, I think zonked out on cold medicine might be the right way to watch it.

Billie Doux: Get well soon, Mikey! We need you out of bed and writing!

Logan, Namaste back atcha. I think maybe twelve years was finally enough distance for me.

Shari, I'm also enjoying She-Hulk. I love how she keeps breaking the fourth wall.

ChrisB: Get better soon, Mikey. COVID is no fun at all.

I am making my way through the series of Untold documentaries on Netflix. Each is about a sports scandal and I am finding them fascinating even though I am not a huge sports fan.

What is really taking up my time these days is a book called Station Eleven that I understand was made into a miniseries. Has anyone seen it? I am loving the book and am trying to decide if I want to try the series or just read...

Mikey Heinrich: Based on the series of dreams I had last night, I might want to dial back the Oz bingeing. It was not unlike after I binged all of Breaking Bad over six weeks, which I do not recommend if peaceful sleep is a thing you're into.

I haven't watched the third episode yet. but She-Hulk really has been fantastic. I found it hard to get into Ms. Marvel. It was good, but the whole high school experience is such a long time ago for me that I can't really get into it. I had the same problem with Spider-man: Homecoming. 'This is good, but not really for me.'

Joseph Santini: I am diving into She-Hulk with excitement but not so much Ms. Marvel, too, Mikey. I watched one episode and got bored of the show. It does seem targeted to much younger folks.

I watched McDonald & Dodds a while ago and enjoyed the first episode, and went back over the last week to cover three seasons which were increasingly wonderful if somewhat oddly unbalanced in terms of time. I’m happy to report the show has an increasingly more rewarding payoff as you go, the last episode of season three had me completely. Oh, and I like Melora Hardin now, and...

"We like to chat about the dresses we will wear tonight"

has become an earworm I can’t get rid of.

Samantha Quinn: Ms. Marvel has a strange start for what is basically a fairly standard origin story with a fantastic lead. That first episode is interesting, but dives too deeply into the high school condition and Kamala's fantasy world which creates a strange disconnection with most of the rest of the season which is about growing up and learning how to handle that responsibility in the wake of gaining incredible power. It goes so far as to explore the Partition from the Pakistani point of view, and never once demonizes the culture for being Muslim. It's worth finishing, especially because it does tie directly into the Marvels coming out next year.


I'm far too big of a Supercorp shipper to ever forgive the finale of Supergirl for not giving us anything. Still, Mikey, you are absolutely right that it was a super self-indulgent finale, on top of a very uneven and somewhat poorly executed season.

On the flip side of that I am absolutely loving She-Hulk, no qualifier, just enjoying it. Victoria, you have to try Strange New Worlds, it is soooo good, like seriously the best Trek of this generation. I would go so far as to say that it measures up to the best of previous Trek in almost every episode, and that's kind of amazing.

Adam, the "Invasion!" crossover was fun, but I didn't really care for the Dominators as villains. It is worth finishing since as of next season the entire run will be over. I also recommend Stargirl which is currently airing its third season. It is kind of high school focused but the characters are great and it delves into some seriously dark stuff for a show with a lead who is a bubbly blonde wearing the American flag as a costume.

Adam Jones: I'd watch She-Hulk as soon as possible. That show is perfection. Still haven't finished Ms. Marvel...

That's it for us. What are you guys watching this week?

15 comments:

  1. ChrisB didn't really get a reply from anyone, so here goes: I haven't read the book but I watched the miniseries and quite enjoyed it. It was an unusual take on a post-apocalyptic setting told from unusual viewpoints, and it was at times a chilling and heartbreaking story but also full of hope and warmth. At times a little too trippy for me, but I enjoyed it enough to push through that, and it was well worth it.

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  2. Chris B: Like Emma I would definitely recommend watching the "Station Eleven" miniseries. I liked the book and will read more St. John Mandel, but I thought the series was better. I thought the plot in the series tied the main characters together better than the book did. It has a strong cast as well. Mackenzie Davis as Kirsten, Martha Lawler as younger Kirsten, and Himesh Patel as Jeevan are wonderful, especially Patel. I think Patel got an Emmy nom which was highly deserved. Would love to hear your reaction if you get to it.

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  3. After watching "Prey" and "Predator", suddenly it's monsters! So: "ThingFest". Watched 2011's "The Thing" (prequel to 1982), then rewatched 1982's "The Thing", & 1951's "The Thing From Another World". For dessert X-Files S01 episode "Ice". All 4 inspired by John W. Campbell's "Who Goes There?" story (& each other).

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  4. Emma and Milo -- thank you so much for the comments. You have definitely convinced me to watch, but I will probably wait until after I finish the book. Because of the nature of the story, I think if I try to do both at the same time trippy things will happen (to quote Emma).

    Thanks again to you both.

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  5. I'm never rewatching Lost. I'm still angry about it. I don't know if I'm angrier about the Lost ending (I'll be nice and call *that* "ending"), or How I Met Your Mother's. Two series that should have put their creators out of work forever, deservedly.

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  6. Hey Billie, I'm slowly rewatching Lost too! And I just got to the episode that introduced "Henry Gale" (Michael Emerson!!!!)... Your writing is a big part of the rewatch for me, as it was when the show was first broadcast. I'm also watching Breaking Bad (never got around to it when it aired) after LOVING Better Call Saul (so so good). My alternative is Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt when I want something lighter.

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  7. Oh, and I totally co-sign on She-Hulk. I've been experiencing Marvel fatigue, and this was just the ticket.

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  8. Scott, great minds. :) Lost was huge for me when it was airing. I had a Yahoo discussion list of nearly a thousand people, ABC was sending me free stuff, my reviews were plagiarized, good times. Enjoy Breaking Bad! It's extraordinary, and it's also on my rewatch list. Oddly, I haven't watched Better Call Saul.

    Anonymous, I totally understand. It took me a long time to get over my mad -- twelve years. I'm still a bit mad. But then again, we're all mad here.

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  9. Station Eleven series: excellent. Lost: if you really want to take a deep dive, read along with this episode-by-episode (mostly) rewatch that gets heavy into What It All Means. https://www.getrevue.co/profile/juliusgoat/issues/lost-01-observation-vs-belief-903414

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  10. ChrisB, I think everyone has already convinced you, but just in case you need to hear one more: I think you will really like the book.

    (I actually didn't love the book, perhaps because it just wasn't doing what I wanted it to do. But I think you and I have very different tastes in literature!)

    I watched The Mind of a Cat on Netflix. It's mostly interesting to watch the slo-mo shots of cats flipping around in the air, and to snarkily wonder if professional "cat psychologists" are really just anxious-attachment types who need to constantly reassure themselves that their cats love them.

    I also watched the first two episodes of the new Lord of the Rings series, and they were surprisingly good! I'm planning to do a series review.

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    1. I just watched the Mind of a Cat on Sunday. I was surprised by how much of what they covered I knew already, or at least surmised. Does that mean I can call myself a Cat Guru?

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  11. Hello.

    I've only recently discovered this site and all its reviews and sundry content.

    It's a big site, with LOTS of material, as I'm sure you all are aware. And just today, I clicked onto this thread for the first time.

    I hope there's enough wiggle room regarding the rules to submit for your consideration the following Episode & Entry Titles Poetry, Shiny and New Sidebar Edition.

    - Michael

        —     —     —     —     —     —     —

    Earth. Air. Water. Fire.
    We Light the Way

    Reboot Pilot
    Series Review
    A Hope In Hell

    How's It Going to Be
    Lock and Key

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  12. Dang! I think I posted this on my above comment on the wrong thread!

    I intended it for the Sidebar Comments Poetry thread.

    Oops.

    - Michael

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  13. Michael, not a problem -- just repost it there. And welcome to the site!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Billie! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

      Delete

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