Hello friends,
I'm keeping this log more for future me, so I can jog the old brain regarding the awesome things I did see (probably on Netflix), in January, in 2018. Here it is!
BLACK MIRROR (Season 4), Netflix
This did come out right at the end of 2017, but I didn't watch it till '18.
Solid season, 6 great new stories, with Hang the DJ being the stand out episode (10 outta 10 on imdb from me), also USS Callister was excellently done and gave a nice new spin on the space adventure. Any chance to watch new dystopian ideas from the mind of Charlie Brooker and I am there ready to feel the existential dread, yes yes yes.
IMDB rating: 8.9
My Rating: 8
LOVESICK (Season 3), Netflix
Gosh darn it this was great. I was a big fan of the first two series, and this third one doesn't disappoint. There is much more focus on Angus this time round (him becoming one of the main characters really) and Luke takes centre stage for more of the season as well.
Stand out episode was probably the final one, the university reunion, as well as the Evie hen do episode, in fact, they were all stand out, it was great, I love it and am now sad that i'll have to wait at least another year for another season of it. Top notch Netflix based entertainment.
IMDB rating: 8.1
My Rating: 9
THE GOOD PLACE (Seasons 1 & 2), Netflix
One of the best shows ever in the history of everness. Janet is my favourite.
IMDB rating: 7.9
My Rating: 9
DIRK GENTLY'S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY (Season 2), Netflix
Love this series, it has that Douglas Adam's charm at it's core, and like Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy before it, you get to feel smart as an viewer for paying attention. A great set of interesting characters, some fantastic performances (not all of them quite so fantastic though, but I'm nice so I won't single out any one person as being a weaker link, you can watch it and decide that yourself). The second season, like the first, has an arch of it's own, and you really have to pay attention otherwise you can get lost as a viewer very quickly. For one episode we had to go back and speed skip through the previous episode to get a grip on what was going on. Fun, fun stuff.
IMDB rating: 8.4
My Rating: 8
DISJOINTED (Season 1 part 2), Netflix
This Kathy Bates lead comedy set in a cannabis dispensary in California is very hit and miss, and way more miss than hit. Still, it has moments were it becomes something of it's own, with Dank and Dabby being the stand outs. It's Bates herself that loses out most, with her character never really feeling essential. I love the animation sections they have in each episode, but these didn't always feel as well placed in this second half of the season as they were in first half. The laughter track underneath is ridiculous and only highlights which jokes aren't hitting the mark. Considering this is a topic that could be dealt with much deeper and smarter it's a shame this show goes for the cheap stoner comedy angle and misses out on examining the effects on a population of the lifting of a long standing ban on a plant that grows in the ground and serves a thousand purposes (ALL of them positive). Oh well, I am probably being a bit too harsh there on what is really just the first season of a show, it needs time to grow and bud, and we did manage to watch the whole of it so it did have something working right.
IMDB rating: 6.6
My Rating: 5
BROOKLYN NINE NINE (Season 4), Netflix (well, we watched it on there)
Another season of the cop comedy show from the creative mind of Michael Schur, this season was fun, had a few stand out episodes, most noticeably the Terry being arrested for being Black episode (that was some powerful stuff right there, GO TERRY & CAPTAIN HOLT!) and I really like Ken Marino as Captain Stentley (Ken was also in Disjointed, popping up everywhere this guy!). I do feel sometimes that B99 slows it's pace to stretch stuff out over a season, where say 'The Good Place' keeps it's story really tight by only having 12 or 13 episodes, B99 goes to 22 episodes and felt a little unfocused at times. It's still a great show and I will be back for season 5 when Netflix puts it up.
IMDB rating: 8.3
My Rating: 7
FARGO (Season 3), Netflix
Oh you bettcha, another season on the TV show based in the same world as the Coen brothers 1996 film of the same name, Season 3 takes place in 2010 and focuses around two brothers (both played by Ewen McGregor), and it is awesome. A bit slower to get going then the previous two seasons, but still it packs a hell of a punch and is a worthy addition to the Fargo good name. Top quality television through and through, oh yah.
IMDB rating: 9.0
My Rating: 9
DAVE CHAPPELLE - EQUANIMITY, Netflix
We watched the first of the two Dave Chappelle comedy specials too, this was masterful stand up from a true legend of the craft. Dave is a very funny and very clever man, worth spending the time with for a giggle and a think.
IMDB rating: 8.4
My Rating: 8
As you can see, not many low rated things here (except Disjointed). I try to only watch the things I think I will really enjoy, and as you can see, I enjoyed all the things I watched in January. My beautiful wife has been watching Friends quite a bit, since they put it up on Netflix (and I have sat through a fair few episodes myself). This might seem like quite a lot of watching, several hours every week for sure, but we don't have a TV, and only watch these things on a projector or a laptop, and we go outside sometimes to see the World, it's really nice, the World.
IMDB rating: ?
My Rating: 10 (the World rules!)
Peace and love
Andy (Cosmic Bos)
