(Kruiser's Note: After not watching much television at all for most of my life, the Morning Briefing turned me into an avid binge kind of guy. I like to have something on when I'm working on the second half of each day's MB, and I burn through a lot of what's available. I started this column to occasionally share thoughts on what I've seen. I am not a professional TV critic, but I have mad skills when it comes to being opinionated. Also, I've been on Japanese television, so, yeah.)
Back in Olden Times, when we were all subject to the whims of network television programming executives, there was a tedious but familiar process that drama programs went through. There was the interminably long 22-episode season, the middle part of which dragged on, and it was meant to kill time until the big finale. That last episode had to keep people interested for almost half a year until the next season, so more often than not, it featured an insane cliffhanger.
I had a writing professor in college who really didn't like surprise endings that seemed to come out of nowhere at the end of stories; that's what most of those old television cliffhangers felt like to me. It was as if the writers were lost mid-season and didn't come up with an ending until they got around to writing the season finale.
The streaming era has opted for shorter seasons and more organic twists in series. I've recently watched a couple of shows that threw some Clayton Kershaw-level curveballs at the end that I found enjoyable.
I'm really a fan of the short seasons. Streaming services got popular with 10-episode seasons, then moved to eight, and many dramas are now just six, which is nigh on perfect. There are no wasted episodes. The writers can get pretty complex and not lose the viewers. Comedies are a different animal, not as concerned with narrative threads. They can still thrive with slightly longer seasons.
Anyway, here are my two quickie recommendations for this column.
Talamasca: The Secret Order (AMC+) This is one of Anne Rice's moneymakers, which I don't often go for. I did watch Mayfair Witches for a bit, but only because it starred Alexandra Daddario. A man wants to watch what a man wants to watch.
This one is billed as a "supernatural spy horror thriller," so it's got spies, vampires, and witches. I had been done with vampires for a while, but the spy angle and a lack of anything else new to watch at the time hooked me. I still don't like zombie fare, and Talamasca mocks the zombies ("There's no such thing, you watch too much telly....") early on, which added to my enjoyment.
There was a single twist in the finale that I guessed about one scene before the reveal, but it was still interesting. The alpha vampire is pretty intense, too. That's always a plus.
RATING: 🍺🍺🍺🍺
The Crow Girl (Acorn TV) This one stars Eve Myles, the Welsh actress whose work I've enjoyed since she was in the Doctor Who revival spinoff Torchwood back in the early aughts. One of the things that I love about the Brit shows is that they have a penchant for going really, really dark. It has to be all of the cloudy days. Whenever I think that a show has gotten as messed up as it can possibly be, it finds new, creepy depths to plumb.
This show has a lot of flashbacks, which it handles well. I've mentioned before that I don't like them very much, except when they are done well. That's a rarity, but I've seen three or four shows in the last few months that pulled it off. The Crow Girl doesn't just throw a single twist into the finale — it offers up a couple of real humdingers. They're dark-as-midnight-on-a-new-moon humdingers, too. The show is going to be back for a second season, and I'm dying to see how it all plays out.
RATING: 🍺🍺🍺🍺🍺
Thanks for reading; I'll have more for you in a day or two.
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