Shiny new TV shows
Feb. 9th, 2024 07:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessAnd fancy that, they’re in the action and supernatural/urban fantasy genres.
Mr & Mrs Smith 1.1 First Date
I liked that they played around with the concept, with a couple of nods to the original film (mainly using the device of the hiring interviews as cutaways like the therapy sessions.) I wondered a bit if the Angelina Jolie lookalike was Eliza Dushku, and didn’t think that Was that Alexander Skarsgard Why, Yes, It Was looked enough like Brad Pitt, but anyway, we got the promised violence in the opening sequence, and the idea of a company was using two people as a couple, only there seemed to be something like the original movie’s problem, where ‘John’ and ‘Jane’ fell in love and wouldn’t comply with their orders. So, they had to be eliminated.
And then we met their replacements: the new Jane (I mainly know Maya Erskine from ‘Plus One’*) and John (I know Donald Glover has done a lot more since, but I was all ‘look at Troy Barnes, all grown up!’) So, there was lots of awkwardness about living together as a married couple even though they’re strangers, more awkwardness as they went on their first mission around New York, which looked like it was lowkey and left them to act as if this was an indie drama about two people getting to know each other. Except it involved more distraction and switcheroos, until we and Jane and John found out that, no, it really was a high-risk mission.
I like the echoes of the original Jane and John in their characterisations – she’s more of a planner, colder, he’s more freewheeling, trying to talk, bragging a little too much, but they both seem to be quite capable and have the potential to balance each other out. Of course, we don’t know how many kills she’s had before this nine (which she was indirectly responsible for), or – as is true of them both – how much they’ve lied to each other already. (Is Max really her cat? Will we meet John’s mother? Jane’s father?) Just enough UST in their forced intimacy.
I sometimes felt that this could have been better lit, and though I’d have been grumbling more last year, I didn’t love all the stuff involving text. I don’t think I needed the teaser for what’s coming up in the whole series (me making comments about Correction and Frank every time Ron Perlman turns up it looks like) because this opening episode did just enough to make me, a fan of the original film, who has a weakness about tropey stuff about fictional assassins pretending to be married, hooked.
*It is intriguing that she was originally meant to be played by Pheobe Waller-Bridge who was going to co-write, although to me, this show feels a bit too adjacent to ‘Killing Eve’. I’m glad a woman is co-writing it, though.
Domino Day
1.1
And now for a homegrown supernatural drama from a female POV. I can understand the BtVS comparisons – they’ve added being a witch with magic powers to modern life in your twenties. (‘Charmed’, of course, was always more naff.) Much smaller budget than Mr & Mrs Smith had, I’d imagine. I had to make the comparison because I watched this straight after the above. But they were smart (other than with the power transfer) with sound effects etc to convey the powers and flashbacks/memories. The title comes from the main character’s name, and I almost think the character name came first (have no comics ever used it?) The fact that she was using ‘Dom’ as a nickname, although she seemed to prefer Domino, threw me, because I associate it with Dominics. Also, it means ‘dung’ in Welsh, although I think they were going for ‘dom’ as in dominant.
But Domino (Siena Kelly, who plays her (a) has to be a dancer or contortionist, and (b) is in the most scenes, and is good) is a predator one second, a victim the next, a ‘dangerous’ ‘lone witch with chaotic power’. Or you could call her conflicted and confused, I’m more in the interested in her rather than rooting for her camp, although it was suggested that she got her powers/desire or need to suck the energy out of men thanks to her ex, Silas, who she may have accidentally sent to elsewhere, but now he’s back.
I was a bit more sympathetic (because they don’t suck the life force out of people) towards the coven, although I think the nice one who was playing detective (and because she could read auras, I associated her with Tara, probably unfairly) is being too nice. (Also, if you hold the elders in such low regard, why are you letting them be the boss of you, coven?) We also met the terrible lookout, the white one who I liked for using fingerguns unapologetically while using her witchy powers to open a locked door, and the conflicted leader, Kat. She called on her ancestors to help her decide what to do about Domino – report her to the elders? – and they turned out to be crochety Obeyah (sp?) practitioners, who added something distinctive. I suppose they’re setting up a conflict between her tradition and a more European tradition of witchcraft, with the elders (koff the Watchers Council) as its representatives.
The episode had plenty to say about modern dating mores: Domino met her prey, Old Fashioned, via a dating app, he turned out to be deeply unsympathetic – ordering drinks for her, a total cliché of ‘works in finance.’ I mean, I know she was giving him the come-on, but when they were in the bedroom, he became aggressive and totally ignored ‘no’s. Of course, it turned out that instead of getting away with rape, his energy would be stolen (and he’d wake up feeling like he’d been roofied.) But we then learned he’d filmed it all (probably part of why he was so unpleasant, and I suppose none of them would have gone ‘er, this is less a sex tape and more evidence of a crime’) and then he wanted to humiliate and blackmail Domino, having misunderstood what he’d seen from the night before. Domino’s power (more than her intent?) got rid of him.
In contrast we met Hot Leon the bartender, who was certainly nicer than Old Fashioned, and who Domino went on a proper date with where he treated her with respect and courtesy – only the nose bleed of doom started and making out turned into her accidentally stealing his energy, because she’s clearly not in control of her powers. She tried earlier to get the owner of a magic shop (who I am dubbing Ethan and side eyeing) to read a grimoire (that the coven stole from her while spying on her) her boyfriend had left.
So, quite a lot happened! And, probably because it was available in UHD, the fact that it was mainly set at night wasn’t an issue vision wise. Really good script, and Buffy among other things has to have been an influence, but I like that it’s grounded – you get a feel for Manchester, where it’s set, although it could be any city with the pub that men who work in finance go, the boho quarter, and that it’s using some of the witches’ African heritage. Props to the set design too, Domino’s flat, covered in her artwork, like Leon and Old Fashioned’s flats, said so much about the characters. (iPlayer will probably be wondering why I watched this but not Mayfair Witches. I dunno: don’t find Anne Rice an automatic must watch.) I did feel my two decades on the main character, though.
Mr & Mrs Smith 1.1 First Date
I liked that they played around with the concept, with a couple of nods to the original film (mainly using the device of the hiring interviews as cutaways like the therapy sessions.) I wondered a bit if the Angelina Jolie lookalike was Eliza Dushku, and didn’t think that Was that Alexander Skarsgard Why, Yes, It Was looked enough like Brad Pitt, but anyway, we got the promised violence in the opening sequence, and the idea of a company was using two people as a couple, only there seemed to be something like the original movie’s problem, where ‘John’ and ‘Jane’ fell in love and wouldn’t comply with their orders. So, they had to be eliminated.
And then we met their replacements: the new Jane (I mainly know Maya Erskine from ‘Plus One’*) and John (I know Donald Glover has done a lot more since, but I was all ‘look at Troy Barnes, all grown up!’) So, there was lots of awkwardness about living together as a married couple even though they’re strangers, more awkwardness as they went on their first mission around New York, which looked like it was lowkey and left them to act as if this was an indie drama about two people getting to know each other. Except it involved more distraction and switcheroos, until we and Jane and John found out that, no, it really was a high-risk mission.
I like the echoes of the original Jane and John in their characterisations – she’s more of a planner, colder, he’s more freewheeling, trying to talk, bragging a little too much, but they both seem to be quite capable and have the potential to balance each other out. Of course, we don’t know how many kills she’s had before this nine (which she was indirectly responsible for), or – as is true of them both – how much they’ve lied to each other already. (Is Max really her cat? Will we meet John’s mother? Jane’s father?) Just enough UST in their forced intimacy.
I sometimes felt that this could have been better lit, and though I’d have been grumbling more last year, I didn’t love all the stuff involving text. I don’t think I needed the teaser for what’s coming up in the whole series (me making comments about Correction and Frank every time Ron Perlman turns up it looks like) because this opening episode did just enough to make me, a fan of the original film, who has a weakness about tropey stuff about fictional assassins pretending to be married, hooked.
*It is intriguing that she was originally meant to be played by Pheobe Waller-Bridge who was going to co-write, although to me, this show feels a bit too adjacent to ‘Killing Eve’. I’m glad a woman is co-writing it, though.
Domino Day
1.1
And now for a homegrown supernatural drama from a female POV. I can understand the BtVS comparisons – they’ve added being a witch with magic powers to modern life in your twenties. (‘Charmed’, of course, was always more naff.) Much smaller budget than Mr & Mrs Smith had, I’d imagine. I had to make the comparison because I watched this straight after the above. But they were smart (other than with the power transfer) with sound effects etc to convey the powers and flashbacks/memories. The title comes from the main character’s name, and I almost think the character name came first (have no comics ever used it?) The fact that she was using ‘Dom’ as a nickname, although she seemed to prefer Domino, threw me, because I associate it with Dominics. Also, it means ‘dung’ in Welsh, although I think they were going for ‘dom’ as in dominant.
But Domino (Siena Kelly, who plays her (a) has to be a dancer or contortionist, and (b) is in the most scenes, and is good) is a predator one second, a victim the next, a ‘dangerous’ ‘lone witch with chaotic power’. Or you could call her conflicted and confused, I’m more in the interested in her rather than rooting for her camp, although it was suggested that she got her powers/desire or need to suck the energy out of men thanks to her ex, Silas, who she may have accidentally sent to elsewhere, but now he’s back.
I was a bit more sympathetic (because they don’t suck the life force out of people) towards the coven, although I think the nice one who was playing detective (and because she could read auras, I associated her with Tara, probably unfairly) is being too nice. (Also, if you hold the elders in such low regard, why are you letting them be the boss of you, coven?) We also met the terrible lookout, the white one who I liked for using fingerguns unapologetically while using her witchy powers to open a locked door, and the conflicted leader, Kat. She called on her ancestors to help her decide what to do about Domino – report her to the elders? – and they turned out to be crochety Obeyah (sp?) practitioners, who added something distinctive. I suppose they’re setting up a conflict between her tradition and a more European tradition of witchcraft, with the elders (koff the Watchers Council) as its representatives.
The episode had plenty to say about modern dating mores: Domino met her prey, Old Fashioned, via a dating app, he turned out to be deeply unsympathetic – ordering drinks for her, a total cliché of ‘works in finance.’ I mean, I know she was giving him the come-on, but when they were in the bedroom, he became aggressive and totally ignored ‘no’s. Of course, it turned out that instead of getting away with rape, his energy would be stolen (and he’d wake up feeling like he’d been roofied.) But we then learned he’d filmed it all (probably part of why he was so unpleasant, and I suppose none of them would have gone ‘er, this is less a sex tape and more evidence of a crime’) and then he wanted to humiliate and blackmail Domino, having misunderstood what he’d seen from the night before. Domino’s power (more than her intent?) got rid of him.
In contrast we met Hot Leon the bartender, who was certainly nicer than Old Fashioned, and who Domino went on a proper date with where he treated her with respect and courtesy – only the nose bleed of doom started and making out turned into her accidentally stealing his energy, because she’s clearly not in control of her powers. She tried earlier to get the owner of a magic shop (who I am dubbing Ethan and side eyeing) to read a grimoire (that the coven stole from her while spying on her) her boyfriend had left.
So, quite a lot happened! And, probably because it was available in UHD, the fact that it was mainly set at night wasn’t an issue vision wise. Really good script, and Buffy among other things has to have been an influence, but I like that it’s grounded – you get a feel for Manchester, where it’s set, although it could be any city with the pub that men who work in finance go, the boho quarter, and that it’s using some of the witches’ African heritage. Props to the set design too, Domino’s flat, covered in her artwork, like Leon and Old Fashioned’s flats, said so much about the characters. (iPlayer will probably be wondering why I watched this but not Mayfair Witches. I dunno: don’t find Anne Rice an automatic must watch.) I did feel my two decades on the main character, though.
