Cartoons & Outcasts

Hey y’all. Surprise! Haven’t watched Good Omens yet. I got too distracted by cartoons. 

Wish I were more the type of person would enjoyed Owl House because it’s got some interesting influences but the writing lays it on a little to thick (it’s for kids and not for me! That’s okay!) and the animation edges just too far into the style that’s hard for me to watch. It’s kind of like when you love the idea and characters for a story but when you watch an actual episode you think “yeah except I could do better than that.”  

Central Park took me a good three or four episodes to get into. The timing seemed a little off at first, and as much as I love Bob’s Burgers it seemed like it was just the same character-specific humor transplanted to new characters. I know that showrunners have a certain tone and joke style that they like to maintain across their series but it can be off-putting. Futurama and The Simpsons have a lot of similarities but they feel like fundamentally different shows, maybe because of the genre shift. Because Central Park is still about regular people (albeit, with a much tighter plot and good vs evil narrative than Bob’s Burgers) the series didn’t feel different enough at first. Making it a musical just made it feel more awkward – I think because the bad timing made the transitions into songs also a little weak for me. BUT as I said, by episode three or four I got more into groove, the songs got better, and it’s actually a very funny, enjoyable show. The dog is absolutely the best part.

Star Trek: Lower Decks kind of suffers from the same problem I talked about above as it has the same showrunner as Rick & Morty, and while the humor is more PG the dialogue style is extremely similar – namely, exhausting. There are many things I like about Rick & Morty (it’s fandom is not one of them) and Lower Decks has a LOT of fan service, but there’s something grating about its inability to have a quiet moment. I know that the whole point is that some people and life events are overwhelming but at this point in my life I don’t need to be overwhelmed for entertainment. Watching some episodes of TOS after helped soothe me over. Kirk sure did get a kick out of killing that sentient computer that was begging for mercy.

Watched the first episode of The Fugitive with some friends and boy does it just start. No prologue, no nothing, just a dude on a train being like “got framed for killing my wife time to start this other unrelated story.” I thought it was more of an action-oriented show – you know, on the run, falsely accused, trying to find a mad criminal – but actually it’s just a huge bummer about the fringes of society that get left behind or victimized by the law. The first episode dealt with spousal abuse and really did not shy away from anything. Especially for the 1960s it was a lot. I’d like to keep watching because it’s very very good and part of the greatness of TV is not knowing exactly what to expect when you start watching but it was certainly a lesson. David Janssen has such a sad face, he reminded me a lot of Marty. Once I get more into it I may have some more thoughts on how it’s an interesting bridge between the late 1950s and mid-1960s. The characters are adults so it has a lot of trademark 50s signifiers but the entirety of the show is about being on the outskirts of society and running away from a “normal” life and even how that normal life maybe not even be possible.

The next thing I’ve tried on my little Netflix international tour is Control Z. It’s a Mexican show set in a high school where students are getting blackmailed by a mysterious person. A social outcast who is basically Sherlock Holmes tries to figure out who is doing it. A little Veronica Mars, a little Gossip Girl, a lot of fun. A lot of the secrets revealed are horror stories just for the method of delivery (there’s a LOT of outing!!!) but the characters themselves are treated well. I spend most of the time wondering why their high school looks like a modern art museum. By the second episode there are about three love triangles in full force so get ready for that telenovela-but-make-it-premium TV aesthetic.

In non-TV news I have purchased myself a Passion Planner and have promptly gone ham on it. I used to have a plain dotted bullet journal  (Leuchtterm, highly recommend) so now I’m playing with different methods of journaling and planning and note taking. I want to keep writing down what I watch every day and keep some space for activity flexibility so I’m trying to find ways to integrate that in. I’ve also done a little bit of journal decor although I need more journal stickers and washi tape because the stickers I have are from a decade ago. Also, pens. I have lots and lots of pens. I’m excited though, it’s been fun so far.