It's already passed midway into October, and I know it's pretty much too late to be doing this, but better late than never right?.
Coming off my extremely busy schedule to discuss the Tvshows releases of September wasn't easy, but considering the number of relevant TV blockbusters that aired last month, this review list was a longtime coming.
I've already reviewed the best movies of September alongside the best of August in my last post , and well i think it'd be much better to complete the experience of the month by following a few of its biggest hit Tvshows alongside it's hit movies.
(Crime, Drama)
My apologies for starting off this list with a show that's technically not a September TVshow, as its first episode aired on BBC One back in August 29th. I seem to have slept on it and left it out of my August Tvshows list, but seeing how entertaining it was and given the fact that most of it aired in September, why not add it to the list.
Vigil is an Investigative mystery or whodunit centered on the events which followed the murder of a crew member aboard a trident nuclear submarine, bringing scottish police force to the scene.
This show gave me serious Among Us vibes as every step closer they got in their hunt for the traitor onboard, the more the traitor anonymously wreaked havoc on the ship. It really well captured the intensity and drama of a situation where pretty much no one could be trusted and all lives were at stake.
(Sci-fi, Action)
The return of the ever famous DC Universe's superhero TV band of misfits also made September quite impactful, however little the impact it left.
After a crash and burn (horrible) ending in season 2, which left most of its conflicts of the season unresolved, It was pretty much hard to give the third season a try and rightfully so.
Going into the first episode, it focused on rushfully resolving the unsettled crises of the previous season; the entire Saga with Dorothy and the CandleMaker, Crazy Jane and the internal chaos in her mind after the world of her personalities become unbalanced, and the single most important event that seemed to set a premise for this season, Niles Coldor's death.
I loved how the 2nd season dove deeper into the characters and their traumas thematically, and this season doesn't seem to be doing anything that relevant, but seeing the characters reacting and trying to move forward from the death of the single most impactful human being in their lives was pretty plausible.
(Sci-fi, Action)
It's honestly a shame to see Apple TV's newest show this low on the list. For a dazzling new sci-fi show from the network that's brought us such instant classics as Ted Lasso , The Morning Show and Dickinson , expectations were sky high, and honestly even while maintaining quality production quality, it hasn't met such expectations at all.
In light of the high number of visually stunning modern TV hits in the Sci-fi genre such as Black Mirror , The Expanse , Raised By Wolves , Dark , The Mandalorian and others, it's pretty much become a pre-requisite for any new sci-fi show to have great visuals and effects to even be worth giving a thought, and I'm glad this show at least fits this criteria even while failing in the major determining factor of how well it presents its story.
It's a lot more style than substance, and for a show named Foundation, it surely didn't lay a solid one or present an actually enthralling plot before jumping into the theatrics and trying to force it's way into looking awesome.
I just feel that for a visually stunning conflicting story that touches multiple worlds and a wide range of characters, it could've been handled a lot better and become more of a phenomenon.
(Drama, Comedy)
The return of one of the most beloved teen-dramedies in recent years also happened in the month of September.
A show known and loved by how it accurately depicts the teenage naiveté and goofiness while still managing to be smartly woke and highly educative in terms of real world societal and sexual issues, making it one of the most relatable shows in recent times.
This season maintained these values while diving into a lot of relationships, both romantic relationships and bonds of family that impacted the characters' lives as they plunged forward in the new administration that plagued their school.
Sadly to say, while being as wholesome and crazy as ever, some of these emotional narrative vectors that were drawn from the characters' relationships weren't resolved properly this season.
I think in trying to fulfill the aesthetics that make it a fun show, it failed at giving the characters absolution or proper development, making it seem like the story's driving in circles, but it's a problem I hope gets fixed next season.
I'd like to personally state how much I loved and appreciated episode 6, which focused on Eric's struggles of being gay in Nigeria. Being a Nigerian I loved the accurate depiction of the Nigerian cultural values such as the music, dressing, food and mindset, all giving a proper Nigerian experience.
(Drama, Sci-fi)
Adding to the long list of FX on Hulu sensations this year, the one thing Y: The Last Man did gratifyingly was make a solid first impression/impact.
The name of the show of course bears roots from the apocalyptic phenomenon that suddenly plagued the world in the first episode, introducing an ensemble of characters already facing many political and interpersonal troubles, suddenly pushed to the edge when a single apocalyptic event changes the world forever.
The world goes into chaos when death came for all male humans and animal species, specifically bearing the Y chromosome, hence the Y in the title, or at least all except Yorich Brown, accompanied by his pet monkey Ampersand, who now became the hope for humanity.
The show paints a perfect picture of just how conflicted such a world would be from different perspectives. The political perspective, as his mother who became the new President faces administrative issues in governing what's left of such a disorganized world and fix it while trying to hide her son from the world in order not to get suspected of a propaganda; the emotional perspective as each of these female characters spared have to deal with the pain of losing their husbands, siblings, parents and children for no reason at all; the social perspective as different communities with varying beliefs already begun forming which is a normal thing following such an event, and of course the scientific perspective , as scientists work hard in order to determine the exact cause of such a tragedy.
The name could also more ironically bear root from Y asin Why Yorich, an underdog failing at everything in life was spared as the last man, and paints a perfect picture of an underachiever suddenly becoming the most important human in the world.
(Drama)
.
As anyone would expect from such a title, especially given that it's a HBO show, Scenes From A Marriage is centered on a couple going through troubles in their marriage and all the drama accrue to such a condition.
The one thing that this show does extraordinarily well in all its dramatic moments is perfectly depicting the romantic crisis the two parties face.
Marital failure is truly frustrating, and even after going through the many frustrations and arguments and deciding to get a divorce, how do you discard the sexual tension and romantic history you've shared with your spouse for many years?.
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain both give phenomenal performances in playing a couple who faces these struggles, facing conflicting emotions towards eachother while accepting the fact that their marriage is over, especially while having a child to worry about.
The show's strongest factor is definitely its captivating dialogues and argument scenes, which even though we get a lot of in this show, never fails to make an impact, making it amazingly reminiscent of one of my all-time favourite movies of its kind; Marriage Story.
Another point would be the beautiful yet intense sex scenes which only make the couple's conflicting feelings towards eachother much more prominent in the show's progression.
This is a top notch drama, well acted and well executed, and fans of the genre should definitely check it out.
(Crime, Drama)
A show that nearly slipped my radar last month given the number of plausible shows airing, AMC's latest, the Irish Crime-Drama TVshow, Kin.
The show is wildly eccentric and engaging both as a crime story and as a drama.
The Kinsella crime family being at the forefront of this story, gets stunned after Eric 'Viking' Kinsella loses his only son Jamie in a shooting, and the longing for vengeance leads to the start of a gang war with the international cartel he feels is responsible.
The thing this show did in its first episodes I truly appreciated was how it first established a solid layout of its characters and the various brooding parts of the story that'll eventually connect. Jamie wasn't just an element of the premise, but before his death, an ambitious young boy who felt drawn to big things and his family business. And after his death, the story didn't just shift to a vengeful war, it systematically escalated from an emotional rollercoaster of grieving parents to a quest for retribution, with shadows being cast on the secrets which actually lead to Jamie's death that could cause a deadly family conflict.
This show is really entertaining and it very well captures the intensity required from such a plot with a sprinkle of the Irish humor. It's already one of my favourites in its genre this year and one you all should definitely give a chance.
(Drama)
The long awaited sequel to the highly impactful drama show from Apple TV+, The Morning Show also aired this glorious month.
This show while focusing on Newscasting show business, highlights all the conflicts and intricacies that occur behind the scenes. The emotional struggles, the administrative and financial backlashes and most importantly the thematic and social concomitants of the crew's actions both on air and off the screens.
The season 2 followed the events of the climactic finale of Season 1, Cory Ellison facing those administrative dilemmas as the new CEO of the network, Jennifer Aniston continuing to do a fantastic job in portraying Alex Levy, the former Queen of The Morning Show, who left the show and now faces emotional struggles moving forward. Steve Carell playing Mitch Kessler whom both last season and this one is at the forefront of the moral quagmire being questioned in this show, bearing the one terrible decision he made that lead to a girl's death and made him lose everything, now trying to move forward in a new location. Finally there's Reese Witherspoon giving a stunning performance as usual in portraying Bradley Jackson, former Co-anchor of Alex Levy on The Morning show, struggling with her social and romantic life while bearing the insecurities she feels in the network after so much went out of her control.
With these at play and the other characters being introduced with their own struggles, this season so far has been every bit as amazing and impactful as the previous season.
(Horror, Drama)
Mike Flanagan collaborated with Netflix to show us once again what a masterclass horrific narrative in TV looks like.
Looking into his previous masterpieces of the Haunting Series (The Haunting of Hillhouse and The Haunting of Bly Manor), Midnight Mass feels a lot more psychological and dramatic than horrific, at least until the climax, but it's masterfully written all the same.
The arrival of a certain eccentric priest, Father Paul Hill and the return of a known fuck-up, Riley Flynn lights the spark towards many inexplicable and mysterious occurrences on a small isolated island, Crockett Island.
The priest establishes a religious structure and gathers a spectating crowd and sways them into belief using his miraculous displays. With all that craziness, the show doesn't just jump into its thrilling content. Like other Flanagan works, it's a slow burn that systematically builds on its characters, highlighting their emotional baggages and motivations and assembling them in a beautiful sequence of events to solve the mysteries behind the unforseen events that are plaguing their island. This show's writing is so spectacular that it captivates you without doing too much in trying to force it's charms. The methodical use of highly philosophical and insightful monologues adding to the emotionally resonant and thematically significant dialogues, made this show poetic and effortlessly impactful.
Every step of the way, the actors gave stunning performances, Kate Siegel particularly, being the wife of the great creator of this show, never fails to bring her A game in all of his works.
It's an excellent show, but that withstanding,I think it was only overshadowed in the month of September by one massive hit.
(Action, Drama)
This title needs no introduction or explanation as to how it's topping a list of great shows of the past month, because although it may not be on par with Midnight Mass in terms of writing, it's definitely unrivaled when it comes down to impact.
Within a few weeks of its relesse, Squid Game has become what could only be described as a massive cultural phenomenon, achieving feats in popularity that pretty much no other show this year could.
And with all that hype, one tends to wonder if it's actually worth it. Well personally I think Squid Game is 100% worth the hype it gets.
This Korean Netflix hit TVshow is so thrilling, entertaining and widely appealing, it only makes sense it's loved by the world.
A group of random strangers get roped into being part of a grand competition of unorthodox deadly games where the winner gets to walk away with an insurmountable amount of money.
Such an action-centric and direct plot structure might make it seem superficial, but it's not at all. The characterization of this show is just amazing. An ensemble of characters desperate for different humane reasons, bearing different characteristic traits and ideals brought together to play the ultimate survival game with hopes to make it big at the end or die trying. And as to expect, there were many many deaths in this show.
The experience of watching this show is just fantastic. From the brilliant acting and emotional expressions from the cast to the creatively twisted games that bring forth the transcendently thrilling progression, making you feel the impact of the sky high stakes at every turn.
Even though I might place Midnight Mass above it on the grand scale in terms of writing and pure excellence, but it's not just a show I can loosely recommend for anyone who's not a fan of Flanagan's previous works. However, Squid Game is a wildly entertaining rollercoaster I can recommend for anyone and pretty much the most enjoyable show this entire year and I'm honestly hoping Netflix and Hwang Dong-hyuk blesses us with a sequel.
The month of October's already looking pretty epic in the realm of TV shows with already a good number of hits, and I'll be here next time to talk about it with you all.
See you all later Geeks!
It's clear that you have put a lot of work into this
ReplyDeleteThank you for the recommendations
Climax
-Odishika
Well done boss
ReplyDeleteI missed a number of the, I have added them to my list.
Keep up the good work, boss
ReplyDeleteSharp one gee. Very insightful.
ReplyDelete