Director:
Writers:
Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator), Kate Purdy
Stars:
Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie
Review by Mary Cox
“The Old Sugarman Place”
Bojack is back! The second episode of this series sits somewhat uncomfortably for me. “The Old Sugarman Place” seems to be jumping back a little from the weight and drama of the previous season, but it’s right now, it feels the direction of the show is kind of still in limbo. Bojack Horseman is half-in and half-out of being a serious drama.
In the flashback scenes with Bojack’s grandparents, the recurring “it’s the past, so everyone is sexist” jokes start to wear a little thin. This isn’t because the repeated references to “womb problems” are offensive or in bad taste, but it’s that the jokes are somewhat one note. After the fourth or fifth antiquated riff, this episode starts to somewhat literally beat a dead horse.
Bojack’s grandmother getting lobotomized at the end of the episode is melodramatic and out of place. This scene is clearly supposed to be evocative of Rosemary Kennedy, the younger sister of JFK who was famously lobotomized against her will, but certain tragedies don’t translate when it comes to cartoon horses. Touching on such a dark and serious topic would be okay if it wasn’t just a throwaway moment in a flashback, but the way Bojack Horseman handles this scenario makes the weight and tragedy of the lobotomy somewhat cheap and unnecessary.
Clearly, there exists a balance between comedy and tragedy, and in the past, Bojack Horseman has successfully walked that line. However, things aren’t looking so hot based on how the content of this episode has been handled. There’s a chance that the flashbacks at the Sugarman cabin will have some greater thematic significance later in the season, but I’m not holding my breath.
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: BOJACK HORSEMAN – SEASON 04 – EPISODE 01
Director:
Writers:
Raphael Bob-Waksberg (creator),
Stars:
Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie
Review by Mary Cox
“See Mr. Peanutbutter Run”
After last season’s bombshell with the death of Sara Lynn, Bojack Horseman seems to be pivoting away from heavy drama and is returning to more of the lighthearted comedy featured in the first season of the series. Bojack himself is still missing in this episode, but it’s unlikely that he’s going to pull an Agent Cooper and not show up until late in the game.
This season of Bojack Horseman is shaping up to be heavily political, as the California gubernatorial race is pretty obviously taking a page from the 2016 Presidential Election. Mr. Peanutbutter has never really been depicted as a sinister character in the past, but something tells me that drawing a parallel between Peanutbutter and Trump is pretty telling about the direction this season is going to take.
It’s almost impossible to make something now that doesn’t touch on the surreal political climate we’re all desperately trapped inside, but I’m wondering how close to home we’re really going to get here. Can we expect another Cosby episode, where contemporary hot topics like covered-up abuse and sexism in the film industry itself is addressed? Or is this going to be a broader and more general look at the world we now live in?
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: TIM AND ERIC’S BEDTIME STORIES – SEASON 02 – EPISODE 02
Writers:
Tim Heidecker (created by), T
Stars:
Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Isaac Cheung
Review by Mary Cox
“The Duke”
The image of a casino exclusively for scratcher cards is amusing enough, but like all of Wareheim and Heidecker’s work, the point you should consider is the “heart of fear” in this episode. This episode features Ray Wise of Twin Peaks fame, who previously has appeared worked with Eric Wareheim as the starring role in his video for “Wishes” by dream-pop duo Beach House. There’s something about Wise’s natural charisma that lends itself to surrealist media, and his performance, alongside Rhea Perlman and Jorge Garcia, should not be missed.
Bedtime Stories works fundamentally because it plays on our deepest fears and insecurities. On one hand, there’s the surface story about the casino and learning to live with a lie, but that’s not what makes “The Duke” so unsettling. When looking at this narrative specifically from a masculine perspective, this story is very obviously about a fear of cuckoldry and emasculation. Whereas “Baklava” was about the externalized issue of saving someone from themselves, “The Duke” focuses on personal loss of agency via impotence and forced submission.
This is the reason why Bedtime Stories is sometimes described as “hit or miss.” The terror and discomfort doesn’t necessarily “kick in” unless your personal issues and insecurities are up to bat. Even if you’re not afraid of losing your wife to another man, or you’ve never struggled to keep someone’s head above the waters of mental illness or addiction, everyone has some kind of deep-seated anxiety or raw nerve. Give it time. Wareheim and Heidecker will get to you and your issues as well.
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: TIM AND ERIC’S BEDTIME STORIES – SEASON 02 – EPISODE 01
Creators:
Stars:
Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Zach Galifianakis
Review by Mary Cox
“Baklava”
The second season of Eric Wareheim and Tim Heidecker’s spiritual successor to both Awesome Show, Great Job and Check It Out! is back in action. Anthology horror series are becoming more and more popular with the success of films like V/H/S, creating more room on television for the release of shorts and limited one-offs.
Wareheim and Heidecker’s work balances in that space between humor and discomfort, but Bedtime Stories goes beyond cringe comedy and delves into the realm of the surreal. The framing narrative of “Baklava” about a man trying to get a bonus at work to pay off his daughter’s kidnappers matters only because it gives us a context for the surreal events that follow. This episode feels like an anxiety dream, where uncertainty reigns and dread looms.
Looking beyond the surface of this episode, there’s a clear parable here about the difficulty of living with people who suffer from addictions, and about the pain and futility of constantly pulling someone you care about back from the edge over and over again. This series functions incredibly well because it taps into real fears and anxieties. Bedtime Stories uses comedy to comfortably burrow into us just deep enough that it can still tap on our nerves when it wants.
******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: RICK AND MORTY – SEASON 03 – EPISODE 07
The Ricklantis Mixup
Director:
Stars:
I’ve previously criticized this series for getting too far up it’s own ass with melodrama and family dynamics, but other than in fleeting moments, we’ve never seen a true dramatic episode like “The Ricklantis Mixup” before. Like any good sci-fi, this episode was highly topical and touched on a ton of contemporary issues, including police brutality, racial prejudice, class inequality, and the looming threat of authoritarian takeovers.
Rick and Morty has never shied away from heavy content. The series has followed the collapse of Beth and Jerry’s marriage, Morty’s sexual assault at the hands of Mr. Jellybean, and Rick’s attempted suicide. In the past, a shift from comedy to drama has been the death knell for several Adult Swim series, but the rabid popularity of Rick and Morty means its creators have a greater license to experiment with their show and its content.
The return of Evil Eye Patch Morty from “Close Rick-counters of the Rick Kind” is a part of the greater shift to post-postmodernism that is surfacing in adult animation. It is a continuation of David Foster Wallace’s concept of New Sincerity, an honest and empathetic iteration of nihilism that has been divorced from the irony, skepticism and cynicism characteristic of postmodernist works. Rick and Morty both acknowledges and rejoices in the fact that life has no existential meaning.
It’s pretty weighty stuff from a series that started off as a Back to the Future parody, but at the same time, that’s exactly why Rick and Morty is what it is. At heart, this series, and several other post-postmodernist works, are a Millennial rejection of Gen X’s culture of apathy and cynicism. It is a casting off of self-satisfied irony, self-reference, and insincerity in drama.
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: TWIN PEAKS – SEASON 03 – EPISODE 18
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Kyle MacLachlan, Matt Battaglia, Laura Dern
by Mary Cox
“Part 18: What is your name?”
Anyone hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the series is going to be sorely disappointed as David Lynch has decided to leave us with yet another cliffhanger. After Agent Cooper and Diane manage to jump dimensions (or something) and after yet another awkward sex scene, we learn that the Fireman’s
aforementioned Richard and Linda are none other than Diane and Coop themselves. So much for my Richard Horne theory, right?
Again, Mike (The One-Armed Man) gives us the ultimate question and central theme of this season: is it future, or is it past? The episode ends abruptly with an uncertain conclusion. This seems to be the fate of all of the Blue Rose operatives. Once they get close enough to unraveling the mystery of Judy and
the Owl Cave Ring, their reality is pulled apart and reshaped by an unseen force. Consider both the fates of Major Briggs and Phillip Jeffries.
Unanswered questions: What the hell is up with Audrey? I have a theory that the Peaks world we know, where Cooper is still Cooper, and Laura is dead and wrapped in plastic, exists only in Audrey’s coma mind. I think that the symbol on the Owl Cave Ring is meant to reference the concept of either looping time or infinity, but what does that mean for Cooper? Who are Tina and Billy? The only good news about the ending of this episode is that it leaves open the possibility for a fourth season. This is highly unlikely, but hey, you never know what’s going to happen in another twenty-five years.
My takeaway here is still that the majority of the episodes this season (and possibly those from the first two seasons) are meant to be read as existing in a “dreamworld,” so to speak. From the all-tooconvenient ways Dougie escapes from disasters, leading all the way up to the too-perfect reunion of the characters right at the Twin Peaks sheriff office in “Part 17,” everything that went down was a part of someone’s dream. The question posed by Monica Bellucchi in “Part 14” does remain, though: “Who is the dreamer?” As I’ve mentioned before, this “false dream reality” storytelling device is something David Lynch has used in his past works pretty consistently. We’ve seen it as a major element in both
Mulholland Drive and Lost Highway. That absolutely could be what’s going on here as well.
Ultimately, if you want to try to figure out what the hell is going on: my recommendation that you take a break from Twin Peaks for a few weeks. When you’re ready, come back and revisit the series from start to finish (it goes without saying that you also have to include Fire, Walk With Me) and see what
you think Twin Peaks is really all about. We now (presumably) have all of the pieces of the puzzle, so it’s up to you to try and put it together to see the whole picture.
******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: TWIN PEAKS – SEASON 03 – EPISODE 17
Director:
Writers:
Stars:
Kyle MacLachlan, Jay Aaseng, Dana Ashbrook
by Mary Cox
“Part 17: The past dictates the future.”
A hell of a lot happened in the penultimate episode of Twin Peaks. Cooper has finally defeated Bad Coop with the help of our literal Hand of God character, Freddie. Naido is revealed to be the real Diane, who has an emotional reunion with our favorite FBI agent.
Here’s the thing: I’m still not convinced that anything that everything or anything this season has actually “happened.” When looking over how everything has gone down this season, and especially when we consider the superimposed face of Cooper as he says, “We live inside a dream,” directly to the audience, it seems like Lynch is kind of pulling a Mulholland Drive here. Everything has been too easy, or too convenient for these characters. Lynch is mocking our need for a cute and tied together ending with the scene at the Twin Peaks sheriff station where all our beloved characters, old and new, are uniting or reuniting at last.
Audrey’s appearance at the Roadhouse in last week’s episode, where the final scene was her appearing in an odd, white room, has still gone unexplained. There’s a considerable amount of unfinished business regarding the Fireman’s prophecy of “Richard and Linda, two birds, one stone,” which can only really
point to the mysterious electricity bolder that killed Richard Horne last episode.
Part of me thinks that Season 3 of Twin Peaks is a response to the demand for a continuation of the series. I’ve had this running theory that Lynch is critical of the concept of nostalgia, which is why Agent Cooper spent almost the entirety of this season as Dougie, and why the heart-warming Twin Peaks reunion scene was shadowed with doubt and unease. Lynch leaves us with the pinnacle of self-satisfied nostalgic rehashing as Cooper fulfills his ultimate goal of trying to save Laura Palmer herself.
However, as revealed by Sarah Palmer’s outburst, Cooper isn’t the only agent in this game any more. Is Sarah actually possessed by the entity Judy? Are Judy and the Jumping Man one in the same? Where the hell is Audrey, and is any of this actually happening
******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: RICK AND MORTY – SEASON 03 – EPISODE 06
“Rest and Ricklaxation”
Rick and Morty need a break.
Directors: Anthony Chun, Wesley Archer
Writers: Tom Kauffman
Stars: Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell, Melique Berger
Review by Gilbert Seah
This week’s episode gave an answer to the question of whether or not Rick actually cares for Morty. We learn that the detoxifying machine only removes parts of your being that you yourself view as a negative attribute. The fact that Rick’s love for Morty was removed along with his alcoholism and nihilism really reveals the extent to which the Sanchez family is emotionally messed up.
Rick and Morty is a show that’s made in it’s funny little moments, like Detox Rick’s apology for burping and Beth taping a horse’s face over Jerry in her wedding picture. The series isn’t too big on running jokes in the way that some Adult Swim shows can be, but one of the weirder recurring motifs of this show seems to be about urination. This is a little offbeat, but hear me out: in “Rest and Ricklaxation,” one of Morty’s classmates makes a passing comment about being into golden showers.
Summer peeing her pants was referenced three times in Season 2 in “A Rickle in Time,” “Total Rickall,” and “Look Who’s Purging Now.” Not to mention, Summer’s invisible best friend is called Tinkles, another allusion to her childhood bed-wetting.
Rick and Morty is a show where the writer’s hangups and anxieties are on full display, so their obsessions and “interests” will obviously come through as well. I’m not directly saying Justin Roiland or Dan Hammond necessarily have a “yellow” fixation, but there’s been a suspiciously high number of references made to women peeing for this to be a mere coincidence.
Rick and Morty will be back in two weeks because of the Labor Day holiday break, but that will give you enough time to mull over the idea that this series is a window into it’s writers souls. What else can we learn about Roiland and Hammond if we take a closer look at this series
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: GAME OF THRONES – SEASON 07 – EPISODE 05
Daenerys demands loyalty from the surviving Lannister soldiers; Jon heeds Bran’s warning about White Walkers on the move; Cersei vows to vanquish anyone or anything that stands in her way.
Director: Matt Shakman
Writers: David Benioff (created by), Dave Hill (written for television by)
Stars: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey
Review by Mary Cox
“Eastwatch”
Tonight sees the reunion between the Dragon Queen and our favorite friend-zoned hanger-on, Jorah Mormont, who is summarily planning on throwing his second chance at life straight into the trash by setting out to capture a White Walker with Jon Snow. Once they somehow capture one, the Dragonstone crew intend on taking their frosty friend on a cross-country tour to help negotiate and armistice with Cersei.
The question of this season is: what is Littlefinger up to? After we see him plant a note with the intention to damage Sansa and Arya’s already splintered relationship, it makes me wonder what he’s really after. All signs point to Sansa and being the new Warden of the North, but what’s his end game?
Littlefinger is known for being allied to himself and himself only, so does he intend on backing the Lannister or Targaryen claim to the throne?
Jon’s positive interaction with Drogon once again is pointing to the all but directly established theory that he is the son of Rhaegar Targaryen. Another moment that happened so quickly and quietly that you could have easily missed it was when Gilly brings up the annulment and secret second marriage of Prince “Raggar” in Dorne. This seems to again allude to the notion that Rhaegar and Lyanna’s relationship was legitimate.
Down in King’s Landing, everything is pointing in the direction of Cersei losing her grip on her sanity and on her acceptance of reality. It’s being heavily implied that Jaime is going to potentially have to make a choice between his sister and his country. Calling it now: Jaime’s going to end up beheading Cersei before this whole affair is over. If we think back to the prophecy given to Cersei by a fortune teller, her death was predicted to happen at the hands of a “Valonqar,” which we know is High Valyrian for “little brother”. Cersei always assumed that this meant that Tyrion would be responsible for her death, but with all the signs pointing to Jon’s Targaryen heritage, we can’t be so sure.
******
“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
TV REVIEW: RICK AND MORTY – SEASON 03 – EPISODE 04
Rick and Morty are summoned by the Vindicators to stop Worldender but end up in a deathtrap conceived by Drunk Rick.
Creators: Dan Harmon, Justin Roiland
Stars: Justin Roiland, Chris Parnell, Spencer Grammer
Review by Mary Cox
“Vindicators 3: The Return of Worldender”
Rick’s functional-dysfunctional alcoholism sets the stage for a Saw-like series of challenges that are meant to reveal the true nature of the Vindicators to Morty. This episode was a clear criticism of contemporary super heroes, specifically, those involved with The Avengers franchise.
This plan ultimately works, but not without adding to some of the existing tension between Rick and Morty’s relationship. It seems like Hammond and Roiland are setting the stage for some kind of major schism between our two titular characters, but one thing you have to remember about this series is that nothing is ultimately taken too seriously. Rick and Morty is a powerhouse of a series with a huge fan following, but Adult Swim’s mastermind Mike Lazzo has pulled the plug on popular shows that pivoted too far to drama in the past, such as Metalocalypse and Moral Orel.
Rick and Morty’s recurring show of heart does give the series an element of greater purpose and emphasis, but after so much time this season has been dedicated to the Sanchez family’s drama, it’s nice to see the series return to a Rick-centric perspective. It’s difficult to determine where the series is heading this season, but it’s unlikely that it will venture too far down the path of melodrama
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“Mary Cox is an entertainment writer from the United States. Her hobbies include making good beer and bad decisions, watching drag queens fight on the internet, and overanalyzing everything. Mary one day hopes to be the person shouting “World Star” in the back of a Waffle House brawl video. She is currently tolerating life in Toronto. You can follow her on Twitter at @M_K_Cox”t
Festival Reviews 