Tag Archives: Comedy Television

Shrinking: Season 1 – TV Review

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – This is a delightfully sad, yet also uplifting, series of broken people doing broken things, yet finding the strength to be better in each other.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the AppleTV+ service that viewed this series.

Paul on a couch reflecting on his life.

Shrinking Review –

Recently, there has been a running theme of there being a lot of good shows on AppleTV+ that absolutely no one is watching because the channel cannot seem to advertise anything that is not Ted Lasso. Now, while I have jammed with a lot of the sci-fi that they have, like Silo and Foundation, I think this would be an excellent time to see what else the service has to offer. The first stop in this exploration is a show that has been heavily recommended to me, and with that cast, I can understand why.  

So, to set the scene, it is late one night, like 3 a.m., and Liz (Christa Miller) and her husband Derek (Ted McGinley) are trying to work out who is going to go down and tell their neighbour Jimmy (Jason Segel) to turn off their music and stop making noise in the pool. Jimmy clearly looks to be an emotional mess who is trying to self-medicate via illicit substances and people you hire late at night for their professional services. That looks even worse in the morning when you see that disaster unfold with his daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell) ghosting him, there being no petrol in his car, and a bike that does not quite fit. The good thing is that it looks like Jimmy is going to therapy until you realise that he is the therapist.   

Continue reading →

The Gentlemen: Refined Aggression – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – This was a weird, odd, yet profoundly compelling opening to a series.  

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this series.

Eddie Halstead meets Susie Glass.

The Gentlemen Review –

It wasn’t all that long ago that I sat down to watch a truly bonkers yet very rough film called The Gentlemen. I hadn’t thought in a while, but as I was watching, snippets came back to me, and I remembered how genuinely wild it was. The question then becomes, can you improve on the first by transforming/ spinning it off into a television series on Netflix? Well this is the question that I find myself asking today.   

So to set the scene, we find ourselves on the Türkiye/Syrian Border at a United Nations manned checkpoint. It is just an ordinary day until the Unit Leader Eddie (Theo James) discovers that his father is gravely ill and he is needed at home. A world of luxury awaits, a far distance from the rural Middle East. It should be a short trip because 600 hundred years of tradition means that the title and lands go to the first-born son, Freddy (Daniel Ings), which makes the will reading all that more perplexing. I sure hope no one has any significant debts that could complicate things. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead.  

Continue reading →

Letterkenny: Season 12 – TV review

Posted on by
5

TL;DR – Like all endings, it is bittersweet, with moments of longing, frustration, and sadness, all there with the joy of seeing people being able to stick the landing.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I watched these episodes on SBS.

Katy talks in front of the Letterkenny sign.

Letterkenny Review –

Well, like death and taxes, all things have to come to an end at some point, and today, we are looking at a series that made it to twelve seasons, a rarity in this day and age. If you want to have a look at the series as a whole, you can read our review HERE. But today, we are going to jump into that final season. One of familiarity and change.  

So to set the scene, there are a couple of stand-up comedians in town, and that has the whole gang thinking that they could take a swing at it. Wayne (Jared Keeso) is not that great at crowd work, Dan (K. Trevor Wilson) is as funny as ever, Daryl (Nathan Dales) is the big surprise of the evening, but when Katy (Michelle Mylett) comes out to roast the town, she brings a flamethrower. This creates a vibe that has people thinking about their place in the world and if they are stuck. Some flirt with moving, others explore new life choices, but then others find new friends and pull at the fabric of the town. We will be looking at the series as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

Letterkenny – An Exploration of a Uniquely Canadian Romp

Posted on by
3

TL;DR – This is a delightful insight into a part of Canadian life.

Disclosure – I watched these episodes on SBS.

There are 5000 people in Letterkenny. These are their problems.

Letterkenny Review –

As Christmas Day approaches (or if you are outside of Canada, you will get it on Boxing Day), it means that a Canadian institution is drawing to a close. It’s a show I discovered once by seeing a GIF on Imgur about kids falling off bikes, which is an odd entry point into a deeply amusing series. We have explored Letterkenny previously, but before we dived into the final season later this week, I thought it would be an excellent time to examine just what makes Letterkenny work as well as it does.

So to set the scene, welcome to Letterkenny, a town of 5,000 in rural Canada, and these are their problems. In this small town, we have several distinct groups. The Jocks, which given this is Canada, are the Hockey Bros Reilly (Dylan Playfair) and Jonesy (Andrew Herr). Who is into getting Ws, takedowns, snipes, and billet sisters. You have the Skids, led by Stewart (Tyler Johnston) and Roald (Evan Stern), who spend most of their time in their parent’s basement consuming illicit material and playing video games. Then there are the Christians with pastor Glen (Jacob Tierney) and his complicated relationship with who he is, oh and the local Mennonites Noah (Jonathan Torrens) and Anita Dyck (Sarah Wayne Callies). The Natives from the local reservation are led by the infamous and illusive Aunty Tanis (Tiio Horn), who oscillates between an ally and an enemy. But of course, no discussion about Letterkenny can be made without the contribution of The Hicks, Wayne (Jared Keeso), Katy (Michelle Mylett), Daryl (Nathan Dales), Dan (K. Trevor Wilson), and of course, the McMurray’s (Dan Petronijevic & Melanie Scrofano), and Gail (Lisa Codrington) who runs the bar. They are the heart of the town and also, sometimes, its fists.

Continue reading →

TV Review – Rick and Morty: Fear No Mort & Season 7

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – A  reasonably strong end to an interesting season of experimentation.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this episode.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

Rick and Morty take fear advice from a random dude.

Rick and Morty Review –

Well, we have reached the end of what might be one of the oddest but possibly interesting seasons of Rick and Morty that I have seen for a while. So, in today’s review, we are going to first look at the season finale, which feels very much like it is having a dialogue with its viewers. Then, we will look at how the season works as a whole.

So to set the scene, Rick (Ian Cardoni) and Morty (Harry Belden) are off on a planet that is like one large haunted house, but nothing really scares them anymore, given everything they have seen in their lives. This is when they run into a Dude (Liev Schreiber) who tells them about the scariest place in the Universe is on Earth. At first, they are sceptical because they have to go to a Denny’s. However, when they find the fear hole in the men’s bathroom, things change really quickly. We will be looking at the episode and season as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

TV Review – Rick and Morty: Mort: Ragnarick

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A classic episode structured in such a way that it knows it will get complaints from an entire religious organisation.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this episode.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

Valhalla.

Rick and Morty Review –

As we continue through this very disjointed and somewhat experimental season, culminating in last week’s Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie, which was a Rick and Morty episode without Rick. Well, it’s almost as if they knew the response to that episode and prepared accordingly because this week’s episode, named after Thor: Ragnarok, is almost like a classic episode writ large, including a b-plot for a change.

So to set the scene, after killing Jerry (Chris Parnell) multiple times to confirm, Rick (Ian Cardoni) finds out that there are “heavens” of some sort. But Rick, being Rick, wants to tap into that unlimited energy, and it can be just any kind of heaven. So, he and Morty (Harry Belden) go to Norway, where he gets Bigfoot () to kill him so he can go to Ragnarok. It’s a solid plan. I just sure hope nothing goes wrong. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

TV Review – Rick and Morty: Rise of the Numbericons: The Movie

Posted on by
4

TL;DR – Asks the question, can you do an episode of Rick and Morty without Rick? And the answer is: sure.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this episode.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

Moments befroe the death of Q

Rick and Morty Review –

It can be hard to break when you have built your show around some bedrock principles, so you have enshrined them in your show’s title. Well, if this season of Rick and Morty is known for one thing, it is breaking with what they have established in the past, and this time that is, can you have a Rick and Morty episode without Rick?

So to set the scene, Morty (Harry Belden) has one of those rare moments where he is not out on an adventure with Rick (Ian Cardoni) and is instead at Harry Herpson High School in Mr. Goldenfold’s (Brandon Johnson) math class. After getting detention, he is held back, which is when Water-T (Dan Harmon) arrives because the Numbericons have invaded his planet and killed his father, Helium-Q (Ice-T). Now, only Goldenfold can save them. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

The Artful Dodger: The Yankee Dodge – TV Review

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – This is a bloody introduction to a beloved character that promises a lot, but I am not yet wholly convinced.  

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Disney+ service that viewed this series.

The Artful Dodger Review –

For people of my time, this odd little TV show ran for one season but still echoed through time. Punching above its weight. Escape of the Artful Dodger had such an odd impact that I was surprised no one had taken a second bite at the apple until today. Let us then go back to 1800s Australia, stuck on the opposite side of the world from all, but at the heart of our story.

So to set the scene, it is a typical day in colonial Port Victory in what will become Australia. Hangings are common, life is cheap, and power is everywhere. Dr Jack Dawkins (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) is one of the few local doctors around; even rarer, he is competent at his job. However, he does like to gamble with people like Darius Craksworth (Tim Minchin), who is not afraid to cheat. Being in the hole for £26 and about to lose a hand is almost the worst thing to happen to him, but then a Norbert Fagin (David Thewlis) arrives. He should be dead, but here he stands, and he also knows that Dr Jack Dawkins used to be The Artful Dodger and is still technically an escaped convict. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →

TV Review – Rick and Morty: Wet Kuat Amortican Summer

Posted on by
1

TL;DR – A perfectly fine episode that leans into its Total Recall premise, but not a whole lot else.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix subscription that viewed this episode.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit scene.

an Attribute Slider

Rick and Morty Review –

Since we last checked in with Rick and Morty in Air Force Wong, Rick (Ian Cardoni) met his nemesis Prime Rick (Ian Cardoni) after teaming up with Morty (Harry Belden) and Evil Morty (Harry Belden). Covered in blood, Rick reached a resolution to the main narrative arc driving him since the start of the season. Which asks the question, where do you go after that?

So to set the scene, Summer (Spencer Grammer) has spent quite a lot of time doing chores for Rick so that she could earn a doodah. In this case, an Attribute Slider lets her tweak her Strength, Charisma, Dexterity, and Intelligence. The only problem is that Morty wants in on this, and after a tussle and a fall into the pool, we get a Kuato situation. We will be looking at the episode as a whole from here, so there will be some [SPOILERS] ahead. 

Continue reading →