This yearās season of South Park is quite interesting. It has never been a show afraid to make big changes, even if it did backtrack on stuff like Kenny being dead. Iāve seen three episodes of this season so far, and unlike most episodes of South Park, where something crazy ends up happening only for the reset button to be pushed, there is a lot of stuff carrying through from one episode to the next.
So far, itās had a go at Caitlin Jenner and Donald Trump. This week marked the arrival of the hipster crowd, as Kennyās run-down neighborhood (just his house and another) become the centrepiece of a gentrified redevelopment. Amused with all three episodes, but South Park can pull other emotional punches. Not for the first time, they managed to spring tears from my eyes with a more heartfelt scene in the third episode.
Well worth a watch. Matt and Trey have still got it.
Personally I think people are quite snobby about South Park, and it is more important as a social commentary piece (due to the way they decide to write episodes) than Family Guy and The Simpsons.
I think Iām putting Gotham on my list of good shows. Last season had a definite purpose, even if was unwieldy in getting there. This season, Rise of the Villains, has been very good so far, and this is coming from someone that refuses to watch the final seasons of Smallville on a point of youāve-strung-me-along-far-too-long principle.
The show loves to tease the audience. A new character this year is a dead ringer for Batmanās arch-villain Joker, although Iām not certain thatās going to be the case. Proto-joker, maybe. Regardless, Gotham is an unforgiving city; Iāve often been surprised at how much blood is in the series (probably more than in any of the films, barring TDK). Gotham is a good show. There, I said it.
Everyoneās been banging on about it recently, but iād like to add Netflixās own āNarcosā to the list. It follows Pablo Escobar from his relatively small beginnings as a smuggler in Colombia through until he became one of the most powerful and wanted criminals in the world. The trailer below portrays the show as much more glitzy and glamorous than it really is, but I couldnāt find a trailer that accurately depicts the mood of it all. Itās brutal, bloody, violent and fucking brilliant.
Iād also like to add in that Wagner Moura (as Escobar) is phenomenal, have followed his career since I saw āElite Squadā a few years ago and hope that he gets a good name from this show.
Warning, this is a documentary and some of you may have seen it before.
Oliver Stoneās Untold history of the United States. Itās a ten episode run, ranging from the end of the second world war to Obama. Like most histories, heās had to pick and choose what to include, but even so, itās a very decent primer into the sort of shenanigans that the US has gotten up to since the end of the second world war.
Thisāll be no surprise to anyone, but the vast majority of its military actions have certainly been immoral, many even illegal. Many, including Iran in 1953, were simply about advancing the interests of US companies, 50 years before the invasion of Iraq.
If nowt else, the show does put the lie to the idea that the US lost its moral authority over Iraq. Some estimates put the number of foreign nationals killed by US military actions since WW2 as high as 30 million. This show, with its examination of how the US has essentially been bang at it for seven decades, gives you a good idea of how it happened.
I 2nd Narcos as the best drama of the year. Funniest comedy by a mile was āpeople just do nothingā, very well made and acted. I have never seen a funnier or more accurate depiction of doing pills than they did in the final episode. Very pleased to hear they were given the contract for a 3rd and 4th series.
Chabuddy G is one of my favourite TV characters in ages. Love PJDN, though watched 1 ep with the gf and she just did not get it. Perhaps it just doesnāt work as well for people that didnāt grow up in (North-) West London, listening to pirate garage radio stations. Who knows?
Also, fair play Bazz. You called it. Narcoās is pretty darn good. Brutal right from the offset.