Better Things and the Realistically Shitty Kids The problem with television shows that involve children or young adults used to be finding actors talented enough to carry off the sort of performances required, striking a tenuous balance between precocious self-awareness and juvenile behaviour in any given situation. I would argue that’s no longer a concern, …
Made In America, American Crime Story and the Unlikely Comeback There’s no real reason why 2016 was the year that the story of Orenthal James Simpson once again occupied the world’s collective consciousness. Nothing about the former footballer’s current circumstances suggest much in the way of intrigue: he is 8 years into a 33 …
Baskets and the Dreams We Dare to Dream Basing an alternative comedy that is not-so-secretly a tragedy around the life of a wannabe clown seems almost too easy. Pierrot, known as the “sad clown”, is a well-worn and widely influential stock character that has its roots in the 16th Century Italian theater of Commedia dell’Arte. Without …
The Good Place and the Perceptions We Can’t Control Louis CK has a great bit in his stand-up: “You know, like, when you say to a friend of yours, ‘You’re being an asshole’, and they’re like, ‘No I’m not’? Well, it’s not up to you if you’re an asshole or not! That’s up to everybody else.” …
HarmonQuest and the Laughter We Hope to Stumble On The more I try to configure my mind around all the different ways this show avoids falling miserably, the more I realise how difficult it must have been to sell as a pitch to any serious financiers. Make no mistake: there are very few concepts on …
The Circus and the True Horror of the Unexpected At the beginning of this year, political analysts Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, joined by former Republican strategist Mark McKinnon, set out to document the 2016 American Presidential Election Campaign. They had no idea what the fuck they were getting themselves into.
Stranger Things and the Absence of Danger in a Scary World I’m not jumping on the “What about Barb?!” bandwagon when I say that specific character’s death was one of the most significant in popular television this year. No, not because she was a beloved, long-time member of the cast or because her demise …
Match Game and the Blissful Point Where Then Meets Now Alec Baldwin reached a crossroads a decade or so ago where there were several possible avenues available to him. In his mid-forties, the leading-man good looks he’d harnessed his whole career, while not completely faded, were besieged somewhat by time and a slight weight …