Dragons and Fur Coats Abound in Final Season of 'Game of Thrones'

I know people are pretty psyched, but I’m mostly happy that this is finally the end. I’m ready for this show to be over. All I can say about this new trailer is that it definitely looks like Game of Thrones. Lots of dragons, readying for battle, probably a lot more talking than they’re showing here. Each of the last six episodes will be at least 70 minutes or longer, so prepare yourself for that.

Luke Perry 1966-2019

This is so sad. After suffering a massive stroke last week, former 90210 star Luke Perry has died at the age of 52. One of the biggest teen heartthrobs of the 1990’s, he was most known for playing Dylan McKay, the brooding bad boy of Beverly Hills 90210 and the most iconic character of the landmark teen drama. During the show’s ten year run from 1990-2000, he also starred in 1992’s cult hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and later appeared in the HBO prison drama Oz, where he had a significant run from 2001-02. Most recently he’d starred on the CW’s Riverdale since 2017 as Archie Andrews’ dad Fred, symbolically passing the torch from his own teen idol days to the new generation. Knowing he’d always be associated with his character from 90210, he was quoted as saying “I'm going to be linked with him until I die, but that's actually just fine. I created Dylan McKay. He's mine." 

REVIEW: "One Day at a Time" Season 3

In its third season, Netflix’s One Day at a Time remains as openhearted and optimistic as ever, a cheery throwback to the “issue” sitcoms of the 70’s, like its predecessor in name and spirit, with producer Norman Lear still attached at the age of 96. I said before that if you can get used to its sitcom rhythms you can quite easily fall for these characters and the female led Alvarez family, with the fiery Justina Machado at the helm. 

In Season 3 the show continues to reinvent the “very special episode,” by confronting issues of sexual harassment and MeToo, alcoholism and drug use. But it’s not as heavy-handed as you’d think. When Alex (Marcel Ruiz) is caught smoking marijuana, there’s no guarantee that he won’t continue to do so and an acknowledgment on Penelope’s part that she can’t force it, though she warns him that in his case he’s risking more than the average white kid. And when Elena decides to have sex with girlfriend Sid, not only does she go through with it (surprising enough on a sitcom episode about a teenager contemplating sex), but the show actually portrays it as a positive experience and lets Penelope wonder how she’s even supposed to feel about it, given that Elena faces no physical risk as a lesbian. 

Talking it out with the kids

Even with the familiar structure of topical episodes, these spins on them are refreshing enough to help the show feel new in its approach. It helps that the series is dominated by the strong performances of actresses Machado, Rita Moreno (irreplaceable as Lydia) and Isabella Gomez, all well defined, opinionated, fiercely expressive women who share the screen in equal measure and occasionally leave poor Alex out in the cold (although there is an attempt to give him more to do this season besides listen and react to the women in his family). Machado is a treasure though, as Penelope remains the heart and soul of the family, a woman who deals with the demands on her by her kids, mother, job, neighbors, and battles with anxiety and depression (not forgotten about as a one-off episode from last season), with the compassion, strength and resolute toughness that make her a force to be reckoned with. Even her season long romance with a guy she’s not that into makes perfect sense for her character, the rare single mother on TV who’s allowed to have an unapologetically healthy sexual appetite. 

A new storyline this season sees some depth for supporting player Todd Grinnell’s Schneider, who falls off the wagon and does a really nice job actually showing what looks like for a guy we’ve only ever seen as an immature goofball- he’s so good that even Penelope’s forgiving attitude had me questioning her judgment, given the risky nature of his problem. The fact that I found myself worrying for the safety of fictional sitcom children is a testament to how much this show makes you care about its characters. The raising of real world issues, politics and struggles of working class people of color balanced out with such a cheerful, sunny outlook is a unique combination that makes me wish the series got more attention and wasn’t continually on the bubble of cancellation every year. I’d like the Alvarez family to stick around for as long as possible.

Grade: B+

Justina Machado is criminally underrated and deserves Emmy attention for this role

'Arrested Development' is Back on March 15

The first half of Season 5 was pretty underwhelming, and after all the bad publicity that happened on the disastrous press tour with the actors, and the Jeffrey Tambor thing, and Portia de Rossi only showing up on green screen, I’m kinda hoping this will be the end of the show, for good this time. I’ll still watch this last part, but I hope it’s a lot better than the first.

Bobby Meets Gwen in New 'Fosse/Verdon' Trailer

Can’t wait for this! Tony winner Steven Levenson of Dear Evan Hanson fame, is bringing that Broadway authenticity to it as the showrunner, but Joel Fields, co-producer of The Americans, is also one of the writers and producers. Starts April 9th at 10pm.

'Barry' Season 2 Premieres March 31st

Yay! Barry is back for the second season on Sunday, March 31st, after Veep. With the murder of Janice looming over everything, it’ll be harder for Barry to keep the secret, but everything’s going to probably have to come to a head a lot sooner on this show, than say, Breaking Bad. Bill Hader said at one point he thinks three seasons was the max it could go, and that’s probably smart. I hope they stick to that, but I can’t wait til next month.

REVIEW: "Russian Doll" Season 1

The original premise of Groundhog Day was so instantly unique that any other take on reliving the same day over and over again probably owes that movie royalties. The latest is Russian Doll, a fantasy/sci-fi/comedy from Natasha Lyonne (who also stars), Leslye Headland and Amy Poehler. As Nadia, a woman who keeps dying and waking up at the same starting point (her 36th birthday party), Lyonne is fierce and funny in the role, but after the initial conceit plays itself out a few times, it turns into something different when she runs into another person experiencing the same situation.

I should probably say that Natasha Lyonne is a bit of an acquired taste. After seeing her start out as a teenager in Slums of Beverly Hills and the American Pie movies, and then watching her on Orange is the New Black for so long, I’m pretty well acquainted with this “character” of hers, the constantly wisecracking Jewish New Yorker- you might even say it’s a bit of a caricature, actually. But if you watch Orange is the New Black, this is basically a non-incarcerated Nicki starring on her own show, and if you’re anything like me, you think that Nicki basically works best in doses. In other words, this is a lot of Natasha Lyonne, and I can fully understand anyone finding her far more abrasive and obnoxious than endearing. I do myself sometimes, although she still gets some good lines in there that make me chuckle. Watching her die over and over again after her birthday party is entertaining (especially a bit where she can’t get down the stairs) but it’s still derivative of Groundhog Day. 

Charlie Barnett makes a big splash in a co-leading role

Where it changes though, is in the introduction of the charismatic Charlie Barnett as Alan, a new idea in this very familiar premise. He’s a stranger to Nadia, (although they’re neighbors) and a completely different kind of character. He’s uptight, he’s obsessive, he’s suicidal after being dumped by his longtime girlfriend (fellow Orange alum Dascha Polenko- hey, is this the reason Daya has lasted on that show for so long?), and yet he’s got this very unique, naive sweetness about him that contrasts wonderfully with Nadia when they bump into each other and realize they’re connected in their absurd situation. He keeps dying too, at the same time as her, and whatever force is pulling them together suddenly takes the show in a brand new direction that we haven’t seen before, and it becomes riveting, especially as the personal and philosophical revelations start piling up.

My favorite part of the series is the interaction between these two highly original characters. It feels like a relationship that really hasn’t been seen yet and that makes it worth watching, aside from the intrigue over how many different kinds of deaths Nadia and Alan can suffer each day. As there always is in a Groundhog Day plot, there’s a wake-up call, a spiritual component that must occur to spark a change in the lives of the people being targeted for this kind of hell, but seeing them go through it together is a fun twist that leads to a somewhat open-ended conclusion, with questions left to be answered another day (possibly). It’s a creative, well-written project from an all female writing team and a new insight into the kind of talent Lyonne possesses apart from her well-worn screen persona. 

Grade: A-

Trapped in purgatory

Trailer for HBO Documentary 'Leaving Neverland'

Boy, is this gonna be a tough sit. Reports out of the Sundance premiere of this four hour documentary were that audiences were left pretty shattered. HBO will be airing it over two nights, two weeks from now, on March 3rd and 4th. It’s expected to garner a lot of attention, but it remains to be seen if it will cause more former victims of Michael Jackson’s to speak up about suffering sexual abuse at the hands of the pop star. Unlike the R. Kelly situation, since Jackson’s been dead for years now, shining a light on the truth and acknowledging the victims feels like all that can be done at this point.

Superhero Duo Returns in 'Cloak & Dagger' Season 2

Freeform’s Cloak & Dagger is back for its second season on April 4th, and though I thought the first season displayed more potential than it fulfilled, this trailer is surprisingly action-packed and looks a lot more intriguing than I expected. Hopefully it ironed out some of the wrinkles over the hiatus (pick up the pace, put C&D together as a pair in every episode, not just occasionally) and improved its storytelling. I’m willing to give it a shot. The leads were both very promising, and the new villain, Mayhem, is a step up from last season already, I can tell.

REVIEW: "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" Season 4

The final season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt was a mixed bag, split in half, literally. The first six episodes were hilarious and absurd and every bit as funny as the show’s best seasons, while the last six episodes were mostly a disappointment, slowly letting the wind out of the sails of a once great series as it signed off. 

The first half of the season, which came out way back in the spring of 2018, saw Kimmy on a quest to teach boys to be better men, and is inspired to write a children’s book in her usual, fantastical, Kimmy way. Infused with the spirit of the MeToo movement, the show responded to the zeitgeist with jokes referencing Harvey Weinstein and accidentally putting Kimmy in the role of sexual harasser at work, while Titus faced his own terrifying encounter with Mr. Krumpus, the orange puppet producer who demands sexual favors at auditions (I could seriously not stop laughing at the sight gag of this). Kimmy Schmidt has always been a show about trauma at its core, dealt with in an outrageous, cartoonish, absurdist fashion, but still dealt with and confronted head on. One episode was an hour long Netflix spoof documentary in the “true crime” style glorifying the crimes of Jon Hamm’s evil Richard Wayne Gary Wayne, enraging Kimmy and inspiring her confrontation with a militant men’s rights activist (Bobby Moynihan). The experimental episode was offbeat, but I thought it worked, deliberately dealing with the entitlement of white men and toxic attitudes toward women that is so much a part of the culture and at the heart of the show’s premise (which was probably ahead of the curve somewhat).

Mikey and Titus get their happy ending after all

Jane Krakowski’s Jacqueline gets a bit shortchanged in this first half of the season, but she does get one moving episode, finally cementing a motherly bond with Xan and helping her fight off her own entitled white boy at college. And Kimmy’s and Titus’s adventures are so funny (especially Titus’s tyrannical rule over an elementary school as a drama coach and Kimmy’s surreal and homicidal interaction with a backpack come to life as a cartoon character) that it more than makes up for any subpar material for Jacqueline and Lillian (Carol Kane). But then the second half comes around and whatever steam it had going for it in the last season is all let out, as the last six episodes are comprised of a series of mostly one offs that don’t feel anything like a show that’s about to be ending. Kimmy dates a guy at work and falls in love with his parents in an episode, Titus continues to try to win back Mikey (a subplot that went on way too long), and Zachary Quinto shows up as a rival talent agent/love interest for Jacqueline in the last two episodes that feels like the writers’ attempt to throw her character a bone while knowing they stopped using her a long time ago. There’s one more extended episode that asks what if Kimmy had never got in the Reverend’s van, but this time the experiment is unsuccessful, as the alternate lives of the characters feel meaningless and Tina Fey misses her chance to make a final point about Kimmy’s experiences in the bunker. The last episode wraps everything up really fast for our foursome with an uncharacteristically happy ending (everyone gets rich and famous? Really?) and sends us off on what it thinks is a high note, but feels suspiciously rushed and not at all in line with the Kimmy we’ve come to know, at least in my view. 

I still love the show overall, and I suppose it was time for it to end (especially if this last batch of episodes is an indication that they were simply out of ideas), but given the darkly absurdist humor they’ve managed over the years, I’m bummed that it didn’t go out with a more powerful, subversive punch. It had it in there, as it’s shown in the past- to not go for it in the last season is a real shame.

Grade: B

The gang signs off after four years