... And so it came to pass that with the addition of She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Marvel introduced us to a world where Deadpool can exist (although part of me expects Deadpool's next film to have Multiverse writ LARGE all over it). However, what I really should have started with was, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law could be the show that cracks it for Marvel/Disney+ especially if the first episode is anything to go by.
This is IN YOUR FACE TV, exactly what we want from Marvel. This is one of the big-hitters involved in something 'proper Marvel Universe' and it's fun; there are funny moments, it's well-scripted and best of all it knows it with the excellent breaking the fourth wall moments, which, incidentally, is a direct swipe of John Byrne's She Hulk revamp in the 1990s.
The odd things about it are clear; there's a substandard feel to the SFX, but that might be deliberate, this is, after all, a comedy and it essentially gives you Jennifer Walters life story in a 30 second recap, ties her link to Bruce Banner, without explaining how (and not needing to) and sets you up with everything you need to know by the time you enter the 4th minute of the show, which is pretty much constant in it's action and set-ups.
Episode two however weighs in at just under 21 minutes of actual screen time and this is an issue Marvel needs to address with its TV; it's either too long or not long enough, they don't seem to get the balance right and even when they're in the ballpark they miss the trick... Anyhow, the second episode quickly sets up Jen's new job and returns Emile Blonsky - the Abomination - to the centre of the MCU and despatches cousin Bruce, in what looks like a return to the planet he was on in Thor: Ragnarok, in a subplot that obviously won't be explored in this series and we're unlikely to see Mark Ruffalo again in this either. There's also a very funny scene round Jen's family home, mainly to do with Hawkeye retrieving his used arrows.
With episode three it becomes a law show, albeit one with a certain twist and while the action is ramped down the humour remains solid. I think one thing is clear, while this is very irreverent it still sits firmly within the MCU and will probably not be the last we see of She-Hulk. It was also closer to 30 minutes than 20, so that was an improvement.
At the moment, I'd highly recommend it - running time considered.
***
I'm such a fool... Last time out I was moaning about the piss poor season finale of Motherland: Fort Salem and how they just seemed to set everything up for a season 4 we're not sure is being made and it only turned out to be the penultimate episode of the series... D'oh.
The finale was... odd. All credit to the writer - Eliot Laurence - for the direction the series took and the eventual conclusion it arrived at, which was more MCU - Mycological Character Universe than you can imagine. One thing I will always say about this series was where it struggled with the acting, the overwrought scripts and the dialogue straight out of 6th form dramas, it had some wild and wacky ideas that it followed through until the end.
There was death, but only the one and that almost seemed like tokenism, especially as it was a little telegraphed by the character's big huggy farewell to her trainees now all grown up and about to end the world as we know it. There was also a few loose plot lines, which I think might have been brushed over more for the problems they caused than anything else. The baddies were comprehensively beaten by the B team, leaving the A team and their mates to sing us to a brave new world order.
I meant what I said last time around; I won't watch this again, but I don't think I have anything to fear there. This was about as conclusive an ending as you could devise, leaving our three heroes in charge of the world (with a wink and a nod to Buffy season 7) with a lot of building to do. It was a satisfying ending to a mildly enjoyable series. I just wish I wasn't harping on about how poor quality many of the actors in it were.
***
We started watching Barry. I'd been hearing things without really knowing anything about it, if you know what I mean? It wasn't until I actually looked at the IMDB entry that I even knew it was a 'comedy' - a very dark, very black comedy. It's essentially a show about a cold blooded contract killer who has grown disillusioned with killing bad guys and wants to become an actor after being inspired by one of his contracts.
Bill Hader plays Barry in a very cold fish out of water kind of way; Sarah Goldberg is his 'love' interest and Henry Winkler is essentially playing a 60-something Arthur Fonzarelli reinvented as an acting coach. It has laugh out loud moments, is extremely well put together and I totally get why it's this huge sleeper hit for HBO.
Series one does a great job of setting the scene, introducing us to the characters and making us realise that while there are some genuinely funny moments, this is as black as the blackest black hole.
Season two, which we have just finished, pretty much carries on from the first series but a little later. There's a continuity issue that I hope will be cleared up - how Janice's partner managed to suspect Barry of killing his partner when she didn't even suss Barry out - accidentally - until the final couple of minutes of the season one finale. However there is also possibly one of the funniest and surreal half hours you will ever watch as Barry (and Fuchs) have to kill an Olympic Taekwondo champion, with a feral, superhuman daughter, to get the LAPD off their backs. It sounds weird enough on paper, it's actually a bit like an entire episode of Peter Griffin fighting the giant chicken on Family Guy...
Plus NoHo Hank. That's all.
***
Nope certainly gets a thumbs down from me and a big 'nope' to back it up.
I don't want to give anything away so trying to explain what went on is difficult enough without me having fallen asleep several times during the viewing with the wife prodding me and reminding me I wanted to watch this.
It's more like a M. Night Shyamalan film in both obliqueness and having an ending that the previous two hours wasn't even hinting at. There's lots of theatrical in-jokes, justification of situations and Daniel Kaluuya mumbling, grumbling and acting like Forrest Whitaker in a caveman play - although the character is depicted as a slightly on-the-spectrum social misfit. He does say 'nope' quite a bit, either as a subliminal advert for the film or simply as a commentary on the absurd nature of the film.
The thing is I wanted to like it, when the film ended all I could think about was how I should have enjoyed it more than I did because the concept was fantastic, it's simply just a really dull film with a lot of blind alleys to pump up the running time. Jordon Peele doesn't appear to be the saviour of horror and mystery at all, a little like M Night mentioned earlier...
***
Okay, despite claiming we weren't going to watch it, we've started watching House of the Dragon and it's basically Game of Thrones set 200 years earlier with grubbier sets, more violence, less nudity and a bunch of people you really don't give a toss about. Plus, we kind of know what will happen if we read the original books of the unfinished tome, because the Targaryen time line is there to see if you look for it, therefore, as with all prequels, nothing should be as awesome as the original and probably won't feel as important otherwise why do the book adaptations when you could just make shit up?
Episode two did nothing to make me change my mind; it's just a re-tread of GOT with Crab men rather than White Walkers.
***
The Sandman returned less than three weeks after the series concluded. This unusual addition to the first season could easily have been placed in the middle of the actual series, but came as a very welcome extra to an excellent show.
Split into two parts - the first third is an animated version of the Sandman story The Dream of a Thousand Cats, while the second part - Calliope - is about a muse and former lover of Morpheus who finds herself prisoner to some brutal men who abuse her for success and how the Robert Smith look-a-like gains revenge for her. Apparently some people are angry that this instalment didn't go far enough with the revenge element or that it allowed an evil person to be depicted as a desperate man who needs to do anything to be successful.
Arthur Darville plays the writer who first welcomes his new muse with friendship and promises before - off camera - treating her much like her former 'owner' to get the best out of himself. It's the actor's best role since Dr Who and he wasn't that good in that, but in this he shows all the vulnerability and desperation he needs. Another cracking episode and it makes you wonder if we're going to see other 'specials' appear over the next year as we await the second season?
***
Just a quick mention about Resident Alien which really has jumped the shark with a time paradox story to add to the already plethora of plots, subplots and lord knows what else in this mess of a show. It does seem to have rediscovered its ability to make you laugh, but only by returning the sheriff to the bizarro dude he was originally and having Harry insult people. As dramadies go though this is rapidly turning into a load of shite.
***
Next time: We'll be about half way through She-Hulk, the dreadful thing mentioned just above will have finished (hopefully for good) and we'll be zeroing in on the finale of the GOT prequel. I'm going in with the LOTR prequel and before that will be a review of the latest MCU offering, which streams next week...
In the meantime, ponder this: if the cost of living crisis becomes as bad as everyone is warning (usually a sign it will be worse) how will all the streaming services continue to produce astounding television - whether good or bad - if their customer base begins to shrink because of poverty? It doesn't matter what right wing leaning people think about the poor, I'm fairly sure Netflix is less important than feeding their children.
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