TV Show Reviews

Anne with an E

Anne with an E

Network:

Netflix & CBC Television

Starring:

Amybeth McNulty

Geraldine James

R.H. Thomson

Plot:

The adventures of a young orphaned girl living in the late 19th century. Follow Anne as she learns to navigate her new life on Prince Edward Island, in this new take on L.M. Montgomery’s classic novels.

Review:

So back in the day I watched the CBC miniseries Anne of Green Gables, then Anne of Avonlea, and freaking loved them. I read the books, liked them not as much but still a lot. So when I saw that there was going to be a new series I was super excited.

This is nothing like the miniseries starring Megan Follows, but I’m fine with that. In fact I’m glad that they did their own thing and stuck more to the source material, it meant that after the first half hour or so I stopped trying to compare the two. It has been a while since I read the books so I could be wrong on that though.

Anne was just as odd as ever. I thought that the actors that played Marilla and Matthew were perfect and it was so easy to see how great an impact Anne made on their lives for the better. It was less obvious, even by the end, the impact they were making on Anne but I’m hoping that will show up in later seasons.

That’s honestly my major concern right now, will it be picked up for more seasons. I hope so, I want to see this story continue through this new lense and with these new actors.

4/5

Silicon Valley Season 1 (2014-?)

Silicon Valley Season 1 (2014-?)

Network:

HBO

Creator:

Mike Judge

John Altshuler

Dave Krinsky

Starring:

Thomas Middleditch

T.J. Miller

Josh Brener

Plot:

Follows the struggle of Richard Hendricks, a silicon valley engineer trying to build his own company called Pied Piper

Review:

I’ve wanted to watch this show for a while, but have a hard time paying for a premium channel for only a handful of shows that I only kind of want to watch. Using Amazons free 7 day trial though I was finally able to watch and I’m pretty sure we’re going to end up paying for at least one month of the service.

Anyway, watching this with my husband he and I both kept saying just how true to life everything was. Neither of us has worked in Silicon Valley, but we’ve both worked in and for tech companies. I’ve never met programmers quiet as awkward as Richard, Thomas Middleditch, most of the ones I knew were total douche bags, but I could see pieces of him in a collection of men so it’s not unrealistic.

From the very beginning I just knew he was going to be taken advantage of and I was screaming at the screen for him not to do things, my mothering instinct is very strong lol, but I was pleasantly surprised by the ending of the first season. Things didn’t work out perfectly, but they did work out. I like that, I like having hope, and not just a constant dumping ground of everything going wrong.

Also, this show is freaking hilarious, that last episode especially. Looking forward to watching the rest of the seasons available.

4/5

Sense 8 Season 2 (2015-?)

Sense 8 Season 2 (2015-?)

Network:

Netflix

Creators:

J. Michael Straczynski

Lily Wachowski

Lana Wachowski

Starring:

Doona Bae

Jamie Clayton

Tina Desai

Tuppence Middleton

Max Riemelt

Miguel Ángel Silvestre

Brian J. Smith

Toby Onwumere

Plot:

A group of people around the world are suddenly linked mentally, and must find a way to survive being hunted by those who see them as a threat to the world’s order.

Review:

Once again I watched the entire season before writing my review. If I could have watched this all in one day I would have, but I couldn’t because of kids and I watched with my husband so it took much longer than I would have preferred.

Anyway, if you liked the first season you’ll probably love the second. The pacing is much better, though there are still slower bits that I could have done without. Still more character development, but there was finally some story and world development as well. So much happened and each of the characters had their moment to shine, we were also introduced to some more Sense 8s which was fun to see.

Honestly, I love this series flaws and all. I still love Lito, Miguel Ángel Silvestre, episode eight with him had me laughing so hard. I don’t dislike the new actor playing Van Damm, Toby Onwumere, but I didn’t love him as much as the previous, really warmed up to Kala, Tina Desai, this season.

The final episode felt rushed, which is kind of crazy considering you never think that with the rest of the show. I’m hoping that if there’s a season 3 (there better be) that they go more in depth into what happened. If not I’ll be annoyed especially since the previous two episodes were the weakest of the series.

4.5/5

Legion (2017-?)

legion

Legion (2017-?)

Network:

FX

Starring:

Dan Stevens

Jean Smart

Mackenzie Gray

Plot:

Legion, based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, is the story of David Haller (Dan Stevens), a troubled young man who may be more than human.

Review:

So far three episodes of Legion have aired and I’ve watched each of them. If I wasn’t trying to get as much sleep as possible I’d stay up and watch them live, as is I’m watching them at two o’clock in the morning while feeding my son.

The show is trippy, but not so much that there is no story. Honestly, I’m not sure exactly what’s going on or what’s real but it’s told in such a visually captivating way that it doesn’t bother me at all.

David’s story is being teased out slowly but enough is revealed in each episode to keep me satisfied and it’s just so weird that I can’t help but want to know what happens next.

I haven’t read anything about Legion from the comics and that hasn’t hampered my enjoyment of the show at all.

5/5

Downton Abbey (2010-2015)

downton-abbey

Downton Abbey (2010-2015)

Network:

PBS

Starring:

Hugh Bonneville

Phyllis Logan

Elizabeth McGovern

Michelle Dockery

Laura Carmichael

Dan Stevens

Plot:

A chronicle of the lives of the British aristocratic Crawley family and their servants in the early 20th Century.

Review:

I watched the first season way back when it first aired but then canceled cable and totally forgot about it until I saw it on Amazon Prime. I ended up not re-watching the first season because I could remember the major points and I flew through the rest.

Mary, Michelle Dockery, was my least favorite character. When Lady Edith, Laura Carmichael, called her a bitch in the final season I nearly shouted, “Finally!” I really did not understand why the man she wound up with even liked her. She was nicer to Matthew, Dan Stevens, in the second season and she wasn’t bad in the third season, but all others she was horrible.

Loved watching the characters grow, I did think the fact that the Bate’s were almost always being framed for murder a bit tedious. All in all I could have enjoyed several more seasons of the show and now I’m trying to find something similar to it.

4/5