Ted Lasso

 Jason Sudeikis. I knew him from SNL. Goofy, funny. I liked him. Didn't' really have any strong feelings about him. Then I watched "Kodachrome" - something I had wanted to watch for a long time because I'm a huge Ed Harris fan but just hadn't gotten around to it. Sudeikis is great in this dramatic role. (catch it on Netflix). I was really impressed. So I thought, let me give Ted Lasso a try.

Jason Sudeikis as Ted Lasso; goofy, funny. I loved him. What's it all about? Imagine if Ned Flanders (Homer Simpson's nerdy neighbout) wasn't religious and instead coached American Football. The religious aspect replaced with the power of positive thinking (a taped sign that says "Believe" on the locker room wall), Same dorky moustache and nerdy coaching track suit and same "Okilly Dokilly" can-do attitude, and you there you have Ted Lasso. Then imagine if this American Football coach with the positive attitude were hired by a British Soccer Club owner to intentionally have her soccer club fail as revenge against her louse of cheating ex-husband. Except Ted doesn't know the club is supposed to fail. Ted is here to turn it around, not drive it into the ground. Nobody believes in Ted. But Ted (and maybe his co-coach) believes in himself. Believe. 

Ted Lasso is a fish out of water story and you can't help but be charmed by this Bad News Bears story, even if we have see it a dozen times
before. It's damn charming. Funny too. Jason Sudeikis, goofy, funny, and I loved Ted Lasso. The second season is coming soon. Score a goal and catch this highly likeable show streaming on Apple +. Believe. 

Dispatches From Elsewhere

This show is Jason Segel's existential crisis brought straight to the screen. It's part David Fincher's "The Game," tossed in the Dharma Initiative of TV's "LOST" and the breaking-the-fourth-wall of "The Holy Mountain" (but the fun of Ferris Bueller). What's it all about? There are four main characters played by Jason Segel (Peter), Sally Field (Janice), Eve Lindley (Simone), and André 3000 (Fredwynn). They each get wrapped up in a game that brings strangers together in a kind of surreal Amazing Race treasure hunt where the goal isn't known but it's all about the adventure, the journey. As a viewer, you get caught up in the fun and the magic of these characters and their escapades. The show is full art both actually and metaphorically. The whole thing gives you a feeling like you walked into a museum of the absurd, a circus show of freaks. It's also a show that embraces difference. The most important being Eve Lindley's Simone. Eve Lindley is a real Trans woman and she play a trans woman, Simone, in the show. Peter has a relationship with Simone and it's complex. Quite frankly I found it brave of Jason Segel to put this on screen. Brave and important. It shows Simone struggle as a Trans person but it also make strides for humanizing Trans people and not have them be the butt of transphobic jokes. For nothing else, Dispatches From Elsewhere should be hailed as important for Eve Lindley's portal - she really does a great job.

But Simone's story is just one piece (albeit large one) of a complex story with many moving parts. Hats off to Jason Segel to keep it all moving. Some people may be disappointed in the show's ending - you are shown the wizard behind the curtain. I loved it all. Go have an adventure and catch this amazing and important series on Amazon Prime.  

Servant

 Let me tell you about my new favourite thing on TV - Servant. From Producer M. Night Shyamalan - he directed the first episode of Season One. What's it about? It's a about a woman who is a daytime TV reporter and her Chef husband (Dorothy and Sean Turner) who have a new baby, Jericho. They have hired a nanny, Leanne. Leanne is strange. The Turners, well they have an issue with Jericho that I really don't want to explain. I want you to trust me, just watch this. Warning, it's disturbing, twisted, and dark - just my cup of tea. Dorothy's brother, Julian (Rupert Grint) shows up from time to time at their Philadelphia home to polish of some booze and to be the voice of reason - Rupert is fantastic. But even better is Leanne's Uncle George (Boris McGiver) - what a bananas performance; I loved it.

The show is a gorgeous thing to behold. The food that Mr. Turner cooks up is the stuff out of Hannibal - eels, squid, placenta, crickets, lobster ice-cream. And the lighting! The way this show is lit, it's amazing - it's a Renaissance painting; a colour palette of greys; browns and earthy tones. The use of textures and patterns - oh, my - the show is like a gothic flower arrangement. And the dolly camera shots are phenomenal! It simply is the most beautiful show on TV - and likely the most terrifying. 

Catch this horror show on Apple +

When They See Us

This four part Netflix miniseries came out in 2019, before George Floyd's murder, before the Black Lives Matter movement took hold in the way it has. This miniseries feels even more relevant now, just a mere two years later. It's powerful. It's a gut-punch. It's important. What's it all about? It's the dramatic telling of the true story of the Central Park Five, now known as the Exonerated Five - five kids, wrongfully convicted of raping and assaulting a jogger in Central Park in 1989. These kids did nothing and were convicted for the colour of their skin. Steve Lopez, 14. Antron McCray, 15. Kevin Richardson, 14. Yusef Salaam, 15. Raymond Santana, 14. Korey Wise, 16. Kids. Korey Wise had it by far the worst, being sent to adult prison. Jharrel Jerome is the only actor to play both the young man and the adult version of his character; his being, Korey Wise. He is remarkable. He won an Emmy for his performance. The miniseries brought to me to tears several times. Like I said, it's a gut punch. Powerful stuff. Important viewing. It is reminiscent of the miniseries "The Night Of" which is also excellent and has a similar story line. "The Night Of" is fantastic and I loved it, but it's fictional. "When They See Us" - it's true. This really happened to these boys. After you watch it, follow it up with  Oprah Winfrey's "When They See Us Now" - the interview with the Exonerated Five. Catch both on Netflix