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  • Not much these days at all. I'm not sure if less stuff is just coming out, or I'm interested in less of the stuff that's coming out, but the last six months or so has been pretty dire. Looking at my tracker the last episode of a new show I watched was the finale of Archer in mid-December. I don't even particularly like Archer. It used to be I'd basically track what day of the week it was by what show just dropped an episode.

  • Film highlight - Talk Radio (1988) - which I had not seen before. Outstanding first scene - both for the cinematography of what was shown and in holding off from showing the protagonist for so long. And then a great, absorbing and intense continuation through the rest of the film. Bogosian both starred and co-wrote the original play and this script - doing all those extremely well.

    TV highlight - Criminal Record - Capaldi at his most sinister and some fine direction take this one up a few ranks. So far I am not entirely convinced by Jumbo's relationship with Moore, but will definitely be continuing.

  • Catching up on Our Flag Means Death. The second season is very good.

    A little late but just started Wheel of Time. As someone who never read the books I'm interested so far. It definitely pushes its budget sometimes but that's nothing that can't be overlooked.

    I've also been catching up on Star Trek Strange New Worlds. I'm nearly done with the second season and it's some of my favorite Trek ever. I think it's good enough I'll go pick back up Discovery.

    • Discovery is almost more interesting as a meta-text at this point, though I think it takes more guff than it deserves. The tonal (and temporal) whiplash is a window into the creative process and audience feedback the churn of writers and shifting directives from Paramount.

      Only one thing is constant: MICHAEL BURNHAM'S DRAMAWHISPERS!

  • Rewatching Xena: Warrior Princess. I'm having a blast, I think I'm going to get the DVD set after I finish

  • Even though musicals are my life, I don't see every movie or TV musical in the same obsessive way that I see every stage musical that I can. To me musicals usually work so much better as live theatre. Also, I have a bias against jukebox show - I prefer original songs written specifically for the story. So it's taken me almost 12 years to catch up with Pitch Perfect. But I have to say I really enjoyed it. In some ways it's a standard, very predictable underdog story. (I think I was surprised by only one small thing - that the girl everyone thought was a lesbian actually did turn out to be a lesbian - I thought the twist would be that she was straight). But that predictability didn't spoil my enjoyment. Definitely a case of "it's not where you end up, but how you got there". I was most impressed by Anna Camp as the primary antagonist. She could have played the role in a very straight-forward, bitchy. even over-the-top way (much like Adam Devine played the secondary antagonist), but she gave her line readings an earnestness and undercurrent of insecurity that made her interesting and not unlikeable.

    Also watched the fourth season finale of For All Mankind. Overall a better season than season 3 (because of less family soap opera) but not as good as the first two seasons. Still one of my favourite shows currently in production and I hope it gets a fifth season.

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