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I am not a cock-a-roach!
Feb. 11th, 2019 09:32 pmWe're not bingy here, as a rule. But rules are made to be broken. Last week, we came across a new Netflix stream called Russian Doll. A cast member or showrunner was familiar, here or there: Elizabeth Ashley, who we'd just seen in a quirky little indie film that was one of Kristen Stewart's breakout roles pre-Sparkly! Also, Amy Poehler, one of the creators of the show coming out of the Parks and Rec coaching tree; but her involvement itself was no guarantee of good, as we learned when trying a Hulu she EP'd a few years back called Difficult People that was also difficult to watch. Mostly, though, from the first moment this show was about an actress I knew (at the time) virtually nothing about: Natasha Lyonne, who I'd seen in her first-ever role on Pee Wee's Playhouse in the 80s and might've known from Orange is the New Black if I'd ever watched the thing.
Last Monday night, I tried the first of the eight not-quite-half-hour episodes solo. Eleanor joined me for a rewatch the next night- and on to the second. Wednesday, the third. Friday night, we sat down for the fourth and just kept going until the end. We then returned, between Sunday and tonight, to do it all over again to see the things we'd either missed or would understand better after seeing it through.
The premise sounded to a lot of people like Groundhog Day- it even premiered on Groundhog Eve- but there's not even a sideways homage to Bill Murray or that particular varmint in it. Rather, this series takes the concept of a repeating reality- ending each time in a usually sudden, almost always slapstick death leading right back to the opening scene of the series- and builds on it, both in terms of the story and in terms of the filming. Not quite halfway through, we meet another sort-of Time Traveler (or did we meet him earlier?), who compares and contrasts with Natasha's Nadia in how he goes through "the loop." Little by little, we get to know the friends and lovers, present and former, who interact with both of them. Early on, it reminded me more of 11.22.63 than anything else- a Man Called Horse seems to be in a role similar to King's Yellow Card Man, and the rules of the reset(s) resembled what Jake and Al got us used to- but by the midway point it reminded me of nothing other than the world it had created entirely on its own.
Word is that Lyonne, Poehler and co-creator (and mostly-director) Leslye Headland pitched a three-season arc. The finale hinted at any of several ways in which their future could go: forward, back, or even sideways. We'll be watching; until then, our lexicon has picked up lines like "I am not a cock-a-roach," and imagery like car trunks being filled with watermelons, to tide us over until things start getting weird in Alphabet City again.
Pepper's been less than thrilled at the humans paying so much consecutive attention to the funny window in the room; here she is, binge-watching us while we're binge-watching the show:
----
Eleanor had the day off from work today for a followup appointment about her knee situation. The healing seems to have gone well; they are recommending that she use only one crutch for now, and are leaning toward weight-train-based PT rather than surgery for the meniscus.
My week is shaping up to be relatively quiet, with now only two court dates out of five and only one scheduled out of town. Plenty of new things to keep me at my desk and out of trouble, though.
Last Monday night, I tried the first of the eight not-quite-half-hour episodes solo. Eleanor joined me for a rewatch the next night- and on to the second. Wednesday, the third. Friday night, we sat down for the fourth and just kept going until the end. We then returned, between Sunday and tonight, to do it all over again to see the things we'd either missed or would understand better after seeing it through.
The premise sounded to a lot of people like Groundhog Day- it even premiered on Groundhog Eve- but there's not even a sideways homage to Bill Murray or that particular varmint in it. Rather, this series takes the concept of a repeating reality- ending each time in a usually sudden, almost always slapstick death leading right back to the opening scene of the series- and builds on it, both in terms of the story and in terms of the filming. Not quite halfway through, we meet another sort-of Time Traveler (or did we meet him earlier?), who compares and contrasts with Natasha's Nadia in how he goes through "the loop." Little by little, we get to know the friends and lovers, present and former, who interact with both of them. Early on, it reminded me more of 11.22.63 than anything else- a Man Called Horse seems to be in a role similar to King's Yellow Card Man, and the rules of the reset(s) resembled what Jake and Al got us used to- but by the midway point it reminded me of nothing other than the world it had created entirely on its own.
Word is that Lyonne, Poehler and co-creator (and mostly-director) Leslye Headland pitched a three-season arc. The finale hinted at any of several ways in which their future could go: forward, back, or even sideways. We'll be watching; until then, our lexicon has picked up lines like "I am not a cock-a-roach," and imagery like car trunks being filled with watermelons, to tide us over until things start getting weird in Alphabet City again.
Pepper's been less than thrilled at the humans paying so much consecutive attention to the funny window in the room; here she is, binge-watching us while we're binge-watching the show:
----
Eleanor had the day off from work today for a followup appointment about her knee situation. The healing seems to have gone well; they are recommending that she use only one crutch for now, and are leaning toward weight-train-based PT rather than surgery for the meniscus.
My week is shaping up to be relatively quiet, with now only two court dates out of five and only one scheduled out of town. Plenty of new things to keep me at my desk and out of trouble, though.