Zero Day (2025) - 4 of 5 Hackers
A painfully on the nose mini-series of a the current political era mystery/thriller. I didn't love it all, but I found it entertaining. And I liked the ending.
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The Residence (2025) - 5 of 5 Purple Grackle
Quite enjoyed the show, it was sold to me as 'Knives Out' at the Whitehouse. And it's definitely in the same branch of the tree, but it's not the same show. I would definitely like to see a few more seasons of Detective Cupp.
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Dope Thief (2025)
Katie and I checked out the first two episodes of the show. The first episode is among the strongest I've seen in a while, it was excellent.
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Happy Endings, Season 3
For various reasons I have discovered that IMDB, Wikipedia and Hulu do not agree on the order of the episodes of Season 3 of Happy Endings.
The underlying reason? Hulu is missing an episode: KickBall 2: The Kickening.
I have no idea why. Maybe it has something problematic such that they don't want to stream it?
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Paradise, Season 1 (2025) - 4 of 5 wristbands
Very good. I didn't know what to expect and it kept me enthralled for the entire season. Will be curious to see where season 2 goes.
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Hulu ended our Oscars broadcast
The wife and I were watching the Oscars when suddenly Hulu ended the broadcast. Oops. Glad to know it wasn't just us.
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Australian Survivor (Season 3) - 4 of 5 Stars
I'm a lifelong Survivor fan, having watched its earliest seasons on TV with my family. Katie and I now enjoy watching it together, and we're finally taking the plunge into Australian Survivor seasons. While we say it is Season 3, it's basically a complete reboot after the first two seasons that were over a decade before it.
It's very much the same base formula as American Survivor, but that isn't ultimately a bad thing.
We finished the season and quite enjoyed it. No spoilers.
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Prime Target on AppleTV
I started watching it because it's about math and stuff. I loved Numb3rs. It's not what I expected, but I am enjoying it.
Also, I'm 95% sure the show concept came from wanting to call a show 'Prime Target.'
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Taskmaster Series 19 lineup announcement
I am very excited for the new season, and think Jason Manzoukas' chaos gremlin energy is going to be hilarious and amazing on Taskmaster.
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ESPN will join the Disney Streaming Bundle in 2025
This is exciting, the realization that things on ESPN are sometimes not available for us as cord cutters has been very frustrating.
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A Man on the Inside (2024) - 2.5 / 5 Bridges
The wife and I just finished bingeing the new series, and as I expected - Ted Danson is charming as all heck still. But if you're coming for the mystery, I don't recommend it. The central conceit is weak and more annoying than the surface plot.
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Cross (2024) - 3.5 / 5 Fan Boys
I was first introduced to Aldis Hodge (the actor who plays Alex Cross) when he was on Leverage. He's come a long way as an actor and he does a good job as the lead on this show. All through the first season his best friend looked familiar but it wasn't until the season finale that I finally figured out who he was: Isaiah Mustafa, aka the guy from Old Spice commercials.
The show, overall, is decent. We enjoyed it. I had some concerns for how it was going to end, but it landed in a way I enjoyed.
We'll be looking forward to a second season.
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Kaos canceled after first season on Netflix
I've come to expect no-less from Netflix. I'm still sad as it was an enjoyable watch, and as I tweeted, there has never been a role more suited to Jeff Goldblum, than as Zeus.
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Inside - 2/5 dead pigeons
Nemo, a high-end art thief, is trapped in a New York penthouse after his heist doesn't go as planned. Locked inside with nothing but priceless works of art, he must use all his cunning and ingenuity to survive.
The one-liner on Peacock mentioned described it as an art thief gets trapped in a highrise. I had no idea what I was in for. It's a commentary on modern society and art. Realizing that Dafoe's character's name is Nemo would have tipped me off that this wasn't a heist drama but instead an artistic commentary.
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Fallout (2024) - 4 of 5 PIP Boys
I binged Fallout this weekend after putting it off. I never played the games and just didn't expect to enjoy it. The real reason I enjoyed it is unquestionably Walton Goggins.
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Poem from Shogun, Ep. 8
This is the poem or waka from Shogun's episode 8. I immediately fell in love with it and began researching it to understand if it was a series of haikus or what.
The sound of rain on the leaves can be heard.
Still more fragile is the dew of tears on my sleeves even in springtime.
Waiting, the pine tree never withers in winter.
If I could use words like scattering flowers and falling leaves
what a bonfire my poems would make.
As I googled though, I discovered that the writers seem to have borrowed that last line from another poem, 'If I could write words' by Spike Milligan:
If I could write words
Like leaves on an autumn forest floor,
What a bonfire my letters would make.
If I could speak words of water,
You would drown when I said
"I love you."
I found it posted here. Now, maybe they had stolen it from Shogun and quickly put it up? But no, that is almost definitely not the case. Archive.org has the page from 2021, and the credited author passed away in 2022. And indeed, googling the poem name shows it online in 2010, and digging further I believe it comes from Milligan's 1974 published book, "Small Dreams of a Scorpion." So, certainly not new.
I don't begrudge the writers, it is a truly beautiful sentiment and poem. Just found it notable that the poem was inspired by the works of another.
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Good Omens, Season 1 (2019) - 4 of 5 Fallen Angels
So I started watching this when it first came out and then something happened and I forgot. Then, I watched The Sandman and mentally I just marked myself as having watched this as well. The whole streaming Neil Gaiman tv-show thing. In any case, I realized my mistake and put it on to watch over the past week.
David Tennant and Michael Sheen are amazing together. Fantastic chemistry and so much fun.
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An Interview with Sam Reich About the Success of DropOut
Dropout is one of my more watched streaming options these days. From their Dimension20 Live Play series with Brennan Lee Mulligan (who is, for my money, the best GM playing TTRPGs these days, closely followed by Aabriah Iyengar.) To also a growing love of Game Changers (which I binged) and now I am eagerly awaiting the next season in February.
I also admire Dropout and what it has become. Earlier this year it came out that when the company had unexpected success this season, they paid out bonuses to their lower-end production team which is often overlooked in Hollywood.
Also, as a fun side note, Sam Reich, is the son of Robert Reich who served under Presidents Carter, Ford, and Clinton.
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Hijack (2023) - 3.5/5 Stars
Idris Elba drama about an airplane hijacking. Overall an enjoyable watch if perhaps a bit predictable for me.
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The Bear, Season 2 is really good
This is not a surprise to anyone who saw Season 1, but wow is Season 2 really good. I have really fucking enjoyed it. The Christmas episode (Seven Fishes) is rough and hard and does exactly what it was meant to do. Additionally, Jeremy Allen White is fucking fantastic. Again, not surprising.
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The Dream
I can't help but think that the missing key to the streaming service wars is the one they'll never accept. Imagine: a centralized service with an Apple-level UX across platforms and a rock solid backend to drive it all. They don't want to be in the software business but they have to be, much to their chagrin. Just imagine. Someone brokers the deal to unite the streaming offerings into a single service, but you subscribe a la carte.
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Q.I.
The BBC comedy / information show is only available for streaming in the US on Tubi. And, more infuriatingly, it apparently only works in browser. I got errors when I tried it in the Android app and on Roku. I've contacted customer support, but who knows.
I would love to see this show made in the US, though I suspect the reason it hasn't been is that the US doesn't have the panel show appreciation. Maybe, one day.
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