Hi there! Welcome to the weekly post where I answer the question no one is asking, "What the heck is Dave-El watching on TV?"
Last week I mentioned I would be writing about the premier of The Alienist: Angel of Darkness. As of this writing, I am a bit behind on watching the 2 episodes that aired on Sunday. I will get to the Alienist next week in this space.
Today it seems I will be focusing on stuff from Amazon Prime.
Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
I finished season 2 of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Midge's secret life as a stand up comedian is no longer so secret. Her father Abe finds out in the worst way possible when he catches Midge doing a particularly vulgar set at a hotel in the Catskills.
Abe has had an odd development arc in the 2nd season. The stiff, rigid exterior may be hiding a more free wheeling persona that we may have expected. His dream jobs at Columbia University and Bell Labs have become prisons and Abe just isn't happy there anymore. Perhaps the unexpected fling in Paris with his wife Rose in the opening episodes of the second season have opened Abe to other possibilities beyond the heretofore rigid constraints of his life.
Midge is working more gigs, her reputation for being really funny helping to push back against the threats from Harry Drake after Midge made fun of his best client, Sophie Lennon. Midge and Susie set up their first tour which goes horribly wrong. Susie gets Midge her first TV gig but Lennon strikes again, consigning Mrs. Maisel to an 11:55 PM time slot. Turning this shit time slot to her advantage, Midge cuts lose with a comedy routine that has all of New York laughing.
It's a routine that impresses Shy Baldwin, an expy I guess of Nat King Cole who invites Midge to be his opening act on tour for the next six months across Europe and the United States. This is where season 2 ends, with Midge and Susie on the cusp of their biggest breakthrough yet.
It also ends with Midge realizing the price she will be paying for taking this leap. She expects that this career as a stand up comedian will leave her all alone.
Garfunkle and Oates
I finished off the 8 episodes of the first and sadly only season of Garfunkle and Oates. Riki decides to have her eggs frozen so she can still maybe possibly have a baby one day. The hormones she takes to prep herself for this procedure play havoc with her emotions to comedic effect but the story is still unexpectedly moving.
Katie has been told she has Peter Pan syndrome which means she is resistant to growing up. Her closest match on a dating site in terms of maturity is a high school senior. Katie,despite her clinging to the innocence of her childhood and its various trappings, discovers she has her own wisdom that comes from her life's experiences. Katie may not be as mature as other people her own age but she has her own level of maturity.
While it is a shame that the Garfunkle and Oates series never came back for more episodes, in a way, I think the 8 they did are pretty tight and cover a lot of groun in exploring this strange off kilter world Riki and Katie live in.
Space Captain: Captain of Space
OK, this thing is stupid. It's a good kind of stupid.
Space Captain: Captain of Space is a film on Amazon Prime shot in black and white with all the bad special effects, ham handed acting and over the top plotting of the classic sci fi serials from the 1930's like “Flash Gordon,” “Buck Rogers,” and “Commando Cody”.
From the planet Argor, King Xayno is slamming the moon into the earth with an anti-gravity ray.
Flying up on the X-1 Rocketship is an intrepid crew, Earth's last hope before annihilation.
Rocky Lazer, your typical alpha-male astronaut-in-action. His skills include punching people, winning over girls and just being awesome. He doesn't give a lot a thought to what he does. He just does what he does.
Chip Skipper, a hyper positive sidekick who gets killed. A lot.
Actually, he gets kinds of annoying.
Jean Jarvis, identified as Earth's first female professor. She also faints. A lot. By the way, don't ask her what she is a professor of. It turns out no one has bothered to ask her before and she isn't quite sure.
Dr. Horst Karlock, a scientist who is off to save the Earth or work for King Xayno if he makes a better offer.
Also in the mix is Klaff, the jittery prince of a race of squirrel men who live on the moon. Of course the moon is occupied by squirrel men (and I presume squirrel women).
And Astra, the bitchy selfish daughter of King Xayno who wants Rocky Lazer as her boy toy.
And Lady Actulus, a cosmic oracle with wisdom and guidance on all matters of galactic importance but people keep bugging her for relationship advice.
And despite wanting to be the threatening big bad monarch, King Xayno has precious little under control. Even the big booming voice that announces him when he enters the throne room can't seem to come in on time.
This thing is stupid but it's a good kind of stupid. I watched this on a Saturday afternoon which seems like a perfect time to watch something like this.
Shoddy models and puppets are employed to low cost humorous effect. An attack by a giant feline creature is actually a forced perspective shot of a common house cat that just sort of sits there.
The film Space Captain: Captain of Space is actually based on a stage play.
Space Captain: Captain of Space is dumb fun.
Which is my favorite kind of fun.
That's all for now. Until next time, stay safe, remember to be good to one another and keep it down, would ya, I'm trying to watch some TV here.
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