Grant's TV Log (2018)

Love Amy Adams so will cut the show some slack if I am not immediately hooked by the pilot.

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I’m here only on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays. That’s why I’m here now.

The Handmaid's Tale: Season 1 (2017)
Creator: Bruce Miller
Platform: Hulu


Episode 1: Offred - 86%
Episode 2: Birth Day - 84%
Episode 3: Late - 90%
Episode 4: Nolite Te Bastardes - 86%
Episode 5: Faithful - 83%
Episode 6: A Woman's Place - 85%
Episode 7: The Other Side - 78%
Episode 8: Jezebels - 79%
Episode 9: The Bridge - 86%
Episode 10: Night - 89%

Season 1 Overall Rating - 85% Fresh

The first season of The Handmaid's Tale sets up a world in which birthrates have dropped to dangerously low numbers, so all of the fertile women are gathered up and forced to serve powerful men in the new society. Their sole purpose is to get pregnant. It's a scary, but rather realistic, portrayal of what life would be like if an extremist group seized control of the United States. Every episode is jam packed with revelations and critical story points, and it never drags. I did find it interesting that it really is hard to care for any of the characters in this show. They are all frustrating at times, but that doesn't take away from the quality of the show at all. It's well worth the watch.


The Handmaid's Tale: Season 2 (2018)
Creator: Bruce Miller
Platform: Hulu


Episode 1: June - 88%
Episode 2: Unwomen - 85%
Episode 3: Baggage - 82%
Episode 4: Other Women - 87%
Episode 5: Seeds - 86%
Episode 6: First Blood - 88%
Episode 7: After - 85%
Episode 8: Women's Work - 86%
Episode 9: Smart Power - 84%
Episode 10: The Last Ceremony - 85%
Episode 11: Holly - 81%
Episode 12: Postpartum - 86%
Episode 13: The Word - 88%

Season 2 Overall Rating - 85% Fresh

June continues to be a frustrating character, but the story continues to be enthralling.

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My Letterboxd

Envy you just starting The Handmaid’s Tale now. Two seasons in now & can’t wait for season 3. Amazing show.

My old roommate finally got me to start it.

I liked the first episode a lot and have heard it just gets better as it goes, so I'm definitely looking forward to watching more.

It gets better & better. Enjoy!

The Staircase: Season 1 (2018)
Platform: Netflix


Episode 1: Crime or Accident? - 75%
Episode 2: Secrets and Lies - 71%
Episode 3: A Striking Coincidence - 74%
Episode 4: A Prosecution Trickery - 78%
Episode 5: A Weak Case - 81%
Episode 6: The Prosecution's Revenge - 76%
Episode 7: The Blow Poke Returns - 74%
Episode 8: The Verdict - 78%
Episode 9: Reopening the Case - 72%
Episode 10: The Last Chance - 82%
Episode 11: Looking for Closure - 78%
Episode 12: Between Anger and Despair - 79%
Episode 13: Flawed Justice - 83%

Overall Season 1 Rating - 77% Fresh

The Staircase is a perfectly fine documentary series about a murder case that suffered from the prosecution's determination to get Michael convicted, regardless of what the evidence actually showed. There's nothing here many of us haven't seen before, but it's well done and shines a light on a key weakness in our justice system, as many other modern documentary series have done .

I think I saw The Staircase. The guy was in the military?

Yeah, he was. You've probably seen at least the first part of it. It was a series back in 2004, and then they released a couple of updates and Netflix obtained the rights to the old episodes and also added on three new episodes.

Shameless: Season 8 (2018)
Creators: John Wells, Paul Abbott
Platform: Netflix


Episode 1: We Become What We... Frank! - 80%
Episode 2: Where's My Meth? - 78%
Episode 3: God Bless Her Rotting Soul - 75%
Episode 4: Paying It Forward - 81%
Episode 5: The (Mis)Education of Liam Fergus Beircheart Gallagher - 82%
Episode 6: Icarus Fell and Rusty Ate Him - 80%
Episode 7: Occupy Fiona - 75%
Episode 8: Frank's Northern Shuttle Express - 73%
Episode 9: The Fugees - 84%
Episode 10: The Church of Gay Jesus - 85%
Episode 11: A Gallagher Pedicure - 82%
Episode 12: Sleepwalking - 86%

Overall Season 8 Rating - 80% Fresh

Shameless doesn't really get any better in season 8, but it doesn't get any worse either. The normal family drama is present, and the funny predicaments they get themselves into are there as well, and there's actually a little bit of character development this season. Overall, it's exactly what you expect from Shameless, and even though some viewers may find themselves getting a tad annoyed with the repetitiveness of the storylines, I still find the show very enjoyable.

Frontier: Season 1 (2016)
Creators: Rob Blackie, Peter Blackie
Platform: Netflix


Episode 1: A Kingdom Unto Itself - 74%
Episode 2: Little Brother War - 73%
Episode 3: Mushkegowuk Esquewu - 70%
Episode 4: Wolves - 68%
Episode 5: The Disciple - 58%
Episode 6: The Gallows - 53%

Overall Season 1 Rating - 66% Rotten

Frontier is a show that had a ton of potential, and after the first episode I thought it may live up to it, but the six episode season hurts it immensely. The story is forced to progress at a rapid pace that really makes it hard to get very invested. After the second episode, the story continues to lose momentum with every episode until it comes to a rather unsatisfying conclusion. This is more of a show that you put on when you're trying to kill time, or want to do some light work while watching something. It's not worth the time commitment otherwise.

Frontier: Season 2 (2017)
Creators: Rob Blackie, Peter Blackie
Platform: Netflix


Episode 1: Dead Reckoning - 58%
Episode 2: Wanted - 59%
Episode 3: The Wolf And The Bear - 54%
Episode 4: Mutiny - 62%
Episode 5: Cannonball - 63%
Episode 6: Keetom Takooteeoo Maheekum - 52%

Overall Season 2 Rating - 58% Rotten

Frontier continues to fall flat in almost every way in season 2. The story is uninteresting, rushed, and unevenly paced, and the characters generally hold no value to me. Anyone can die in this show at any moment and I wouldn't necessarily care. And to make matters worse, the conclusion of this season was just as unsatisfying as the first season.

Frontier: Season 3 (2018)
Creators: Rob Blackie, Peter Blackie
Platform: Netflix


Episode 1: The Low Road - 60%
Episode 2: La fin du monde - 44%
Episode 3: Satanazes - 38%
Episode 4: All For All and None For One - 35%
Episode 5: House of the Lord - 33%
Episode 6: The Sins of the Father - 30%

Overall Season 3 Rating - 40% Rotten

While the production quality of season three increased significantly, the story continues to limp along. The pacing is still all over the place, and the big "payoff" at the end of the season ultimately felt predictable and a little cheesy. If the showrunners can't find a new and exciting direction to take Declan Harp's character, it might be time to end it.

Fargo: Season 3 (2017)
Creator: Noah Hawley
Platform: Hulu


Episode 1: The Law of Vacant Places - 88%
Episode 2: The Principle of Restricted Choice - 86%
Episode 3: The Law of Non-Contradiction - 89%
Episode 4: The Narrow Escape Problem - 84%
Episode 5: The House of Special Purpose - 82%
Episode 6: The Lord of No Mercy - 81%
Episode 7: The Law of Inevitability - 82%
Episode 8: Who Rules the Land of Denial? - 79%
Episode 9: Aporia - 76%
Episode 10: Somebody to Love - 90%

Overall Season 3 Rating - 84% Fresh

Fargo continues to provide us with enthralling, quirky storytelling in season 3 and the cast is absolutely spectacular in this one. Ewan McGregor and Carrie Coon do a great job as always. The production level is top notch as well, almost on par with some big budget movies. And while I don't believe the story of this season is of the same level of quality as season 1, season 3 is still fantastic television.

I love Fargo. David Thewlis was so gross in season 3.

Preacher: Season 3 (2018)
Creators: Sam Catlin, Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen
Platform: AMC


Episode 1: Angelville - 85%
Episode 2: Sonsabitches - 83%
Episode 3: Gonna Hurt - 80%
Episode 4: The Tombs - 78%
Episode 5: The Coffin - 76%
Episode 6: Les Enfants du Sang - 74%
Episode 7: Hilter - 80%
Episode 8: The Tom/Brady - 79%
Episode 9: Schwanzkopf - 80%
Episode 10: The Light Above - 82%

Overall Season 3 Rating - 80% Fresh

The third season of Preacher recovers from the stumble that was season two and gets back to what makes Preacher so fun to watch: out-of-the-box storytelling, plenty of humor, and lots and lots of blood. It does hit a bit of a snag about half way through the season that slows it down for a couple of episodes, but then it picks it up again and heads towards a conclusion that has got me excited for season four.

It's one of my favorite limited series as well. I will say that (so far, still got a few episodes of season 3) the first season is still by far the best. It's hard to top Billy Bob Thornton.

Ozark: Season 2 (2018)
Creators: Bill Dubuque, Mark Williams
Platform: Netflix


Episode 1: Reparations - 82%
Episode 2: The Precious Blood of Jesus - 81%
Episode 3: Once a Langmore ... - 81%
Episode 4: Stag - 79%
Episode 5: Game Day - 83%
Episode 6: Outer Darkness - 78%
Episode 7: One Way Out - 74%
Episode 8: The Big Sleep - 77%
Episode 9: The Badger - 79%
Episode 10: The Gold Coast - 70%

Overall Season 2 Rating - 78% Fresh

The second season of Ozark starts out strong. It continues on with the intriguing storylines it set up last season for the first six episodes, but as the show chugs along into the second half of the season it becomes clear that the writers weren't exactly sure how to drag this season's storylines out to 10 episodes, and the pacing and entertainment level of the show suffer as a result. Frankly, it gets a bit boring in the final few episodes of the season. However, the characters are all still engaging, and the finale did set up a third season that will get me to come back for more...but I am a little worried about how much longer this show will remain a "must-watch".

Binge-watching. 3 more episodes to go. Terrific season 2.

The Deuce: Season 2 (2018)
Creators: George Pelecanos, David Simon
Platform: HBO


Episode 1: Our Raison d'Etre - 80%
Episode 2: There's An Art to This - 82%
Episode 3: Seven-Fifty - 81%
Episode 4: What Big Ideas - 82%
Episode 5: All You'll Be Eating is Cannibals - 87%
Episode 6: We're All Beasts - 80%
Episode 7: The Feminism Part - 78%
Episode 8: Nobody Has to Get Hurt - 88%
Episode 9: Inside the Pretend - 84%

Season 2 Overall Rating - 82% Fresh

Season two of The Deuce continues the interesting storylines of season one while also incorporating a time jump, and thus it focuses a lot on how the characters have evolved since season one and what obstacles they now have to overcome as the porn and prostitution industries evolve. It's still a great drama, albeit not as great as it could be. It never feels like there are any major moments, but instead several small moments that happen throughout the season that indicate a storyline shift or change. I'm very interested to see how the series will come to an end in its third and final season.

Cowboy Bebop: Season 1 (1998)
Creator: Shinichirō Watanabe
Platform: Hulu


Episode 1: Asteroid Blues - 90%
Episode 2: Stray Dog Strut - 82%
Episode 3: Honky Tonk Women - 92%
Episode 4: Gateway Shuffle - 83%
Episode 5: Ballad of Fallen Angels - 89%
Episode 6: Sympathy for the Devil - 90%
Episode 7: Heavy Metal Queen - 81%
Episode 8: Waltz for Venus - 78%
Episode 9: Jamming With Edward - 82%
Episode 10: Ganymede Elegy - 84%
Episode 11: Toys in the Attic - 70%
Episode 12: Jupiter Jazz, Part I - 85%
Episode 13: Jupiter Jazz, Part II - 88%
Episode 14: Bohemian Rhapsody - 79%
Episode 15: My Funny Valentine - 80%
Episode 16: Black Dog Serenade - 80%
Episode 17: Mushroom Samba - 73%
Episode 18: Speak Like A Child - 77%
Episode 19: Wild Horses - 72%
Episode 20: Pierrot Le Fou - 87%
Episode 21: Boogie-Woogie Feng Shui - 61%
Episode 22: Cowboy Funk - 78%
Episode 23: Brain Scratch - 80%
Episode 24: Hard Luck Woman - 80%
Episode 25: The Real Folk Blues, Part I - 84%
Episode 26: The Real Folk Blues, Part II - 91%

Overall Season 1 Rating - 81% Fresh

I love the world and concept of Cowboy Bebop. If that was all that mattered, this would be a 10/10 anime. The problem here is that the episodes are wildly inconsistent in quality. Several times while watching this series, I'd absolutely love an episode, but then it was followed up by a mediocre or uninteresting episode. Some of the bounties that they hunt are just better than others, and that's what leads to the inconsistency in quality. But, overall this was still a blast to watch, and the music used throughout the series is worth the watch on its own.

Debating whether I should take another look at this show. Bailed out fairly quickly in season 1 since I did not believe in any of the characters. But the trailer looks good for season 2 (which means nothing, I know).

Eh, honestly if you didn't like season one, I wouldn't really worry about trying it again. The second season does take a time jump and all of the characters are a bit more mature and settled into their roles, but it's very much the same show. Season one is about them all getting settled into their businesses (whether it be bars, hooking, or directing porn), and the second season seems to be aimed at showing them as they continue to grow their businesses and try to make them better.