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Category Archives: Television
What We Do in the Shadows: The End of Season 2 and What We Really Want for Guillermo
What I want for Guillermo de la Cruz as a person directly conflicts with what I want for him as a T.V. character. That’s an inherently silly conflict because, of course, Guillermo is just a T.V. character. But as I discussed on The Serial Fanatacist Podcast, part of what makes him so compelling on What We Do in the Shadows is how real and relatable his predicament is, despite his obviously fictional and fantastical circumstances.
None of us know what it’s like to be the put-upon familiar for a house full of self-involved vampires. But almost all of us know what it’s like to feel that your hard work is unappreciated, that your contributions are taken for granted, and that you have a greater potential that could be realized elsewhere.
The Simpsons: Krusty’s Newfound Faith and Jewish Representation Abound in “Today I Am a Klown”
One of the many distinctive things about The Simpsons is that religion is a big part of its characters’ lives. The eponymous family is full of grousing but nevertheless consistent church-goers. Lisa wrestled with the Eighth Commandment. Homer chatted with the big man himself about life, the universe, and everything. Ned Flanders questioned his own usually unfailing devotion and, for better or worse, Apu’s Hindu beliefs have been a major element of his persona. Even Reverend Lovejoy has faced down his own growing apathy and waning commitment to his flock.
And, of course, the show features the world’s most famous Jewish clown. As I discussed on The Simpsons Show Podcast, Krusty (real name: Herschel Shmoikel Pinchas Yerucham Krustofsky) is an odd place to look for representation if you are, like yours truly, Jewish. He is venal, crude, and shameless. And while there’s occasionally good cause to sympathize with him, there’s rarely a reason to truly admire the guy as a symbol of Semitic humor or charm.
Posted in Television, The Simpsons
Tagged Episode Reviews, Judaism, Krusty the Clown, The Simpsons Season 15
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In Mrs. America’s Finale, Women Lose Even When They Win
The real Gloria Steinem recently criticized Mrs. America. She argued that the show misses the mark in its depiction of Phyllis Schlafly as the biggest obstacle to passing the ERA, rather than blaming the more pernicious and powerful forces at play. Steinem characterized this as part and parcel with a longstanding ploy to set women against one another, rather than address the real obstacles and causes behind the systemic hardships they face.
In a strange way, I think Mrs. America, or at least its finale, agrees with her. As the show’s done so often, “Reagan” contrasts the fictionalized Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and the rest of the women’s liberation movement on the one hand, with Schlafly and her acolytes on the other. Both hold lavish events. Both continue the fight over the ERA. And both, most notably, vie for the ear of those gunning for the Oval Office.
But in the end, both sides collect nominal wins while ultimately losing, having only truly succeeded in thwarting one another.
After Its Season 3 Finale, Westworld May Be Unfixable
If I could make only one rule for Westworld, it would be this — no more twists. The series is addicted to pulling the rug out from under its audience, trying to make fans say “whoa”, or otherwise recontextualizing everything the audience has seen so far. That approach completely undermines the show’s attempts to tell stories, establish character, and convey meaning. As I discussed on the Serial Fanaticist Podcast, when everything the audience sees is merely a setup for some later subversion, none of it matters, and all the audience at home can do is wait for the punchline.
“A Parks and Recreation Special” Was Warm, Familiar, and Exactly What We Needed
Five years after it left the airwaves, Parks and Recreation is back for a scripted reunion special that brings together all your favorite employees of the Pawnee Parks Department during their self-quarantine. Leslie Knope has organized a phone tree with her husband, Ben Wyatt, and all her old friends to make sure everyone’s okay and maintain her connection to her loved ones while they all have to stay socially distant.
Posted in Other Sitcoms, Television
Tagged Episode Reviews, Leslie Knope, Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation
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Better Call Saul and the Hidden Descent of Kim Wexler in “Something Unforgivable”
Chuck McGill once described his brother with a law degree as like “a chimp with a machine gun.” That conjures a particular image, one of extreme recklessness and likely harm from a device far beyond the comprehension or abilities of its user. As Lalo showed us here, you don’t need to have perfect aim or a good line of sight to do some serious damage with one of those at your disposal. That’s why Chuck, in his own mind at least, worried so much about his brother entering his hallowed profession.
Better Call Saul: Why His Girl Friday Speaks to Kim Wexler’s Fate in “Bad Choice Road”
I’ve always thought of His Girl Friday as a tragedy. When Kim and Jimmy sit down to watch the film in “Bad Choice Road”, they’re watching the story of someone who nearly breaks free of a life and a job she excels at, but which doesn’t make her happy. But then she’s lured back into it through the dirty tricks of her conniving former paramour and the inexorable pull it has over her. (The movie is also, not coincidentally, the story of a talented and dogged female professional who ends up hitched to a manipulative, morally-dubious huckster.) That subtle call out to the 1940 classic carries meaning for both Jimmy and Kim.
Better Call Saul: The Reason to Keep Walking Through Hell in “Bagman”
One of the kindest things you can say about Better Call Saul is that it rarely feels like Breaking Bad anymore. Sure, there’s still bits of cartel intrigue, and preludes to the war between Gus and the Salamancas, and a shared propensity to write characters into corners and force them to think their way out. But despite its roots, Better Call Saul has become its own show, with its own world and voice and style that are distinct from the story of Walter White.
Better Call Saul: The Clash of the Personal and the Professional in “JMM”
It’s supposed to just be business. You come in. You sign the forms. You check the boxes. You pay the fine. What you don’t do is get sentimental. There are practical reasons to take this step — reasons that, not coincidentally, help preserve your ongoing safety and non-incarceration.
But then you look at the person standing across from you, someone whose joy and pain matters to you, and all of a sudden, it’s impossible to pretend that this is just a ministerial act or some necessary concession to the gods of legal privilege and bureaucracy. Instead, it becomes something more, something meaningful, something personal, with an emotional charge and an attendant importance that elevates it above business as usual.
Better Call Saul and the Plans and Schemes that Rule the Day in “Wexler v. Goodman”
Better Call Saul’s major players are always making plans. It’s one of the features that makes this show (and its predecessor) so engrossing. In between the committed character work and gorgeous desert styling, there’s intersecting schemes that either merge together or crash into one another, until our champions and villains are left to pick up the pieces.
