The Medium is Not Enough

In the US: Thursdays, NBC, 8.30/7.30c

The Good Place‘s biggest problem is that it’s a really good idea for a TV show. A really good idea. For a TV show. Not for a long-running series.

After it all it posits a perfect afterlife (‘The Good Place’) managed by Ted Danson that’s filled entirely with the best of the best. Even some of the people you’d think were good enough to make it there (eg Florence Nightingale) were rejected. Trouble is Kristen Bell’s there and she shouldn’t be. She’s a bad person who should have gone to The Bad Place. And as long as she’s there doing bad things, the perfectly constructed The Good Place is at risk of collapsing, which means one of the genuinely good people there (William Jackson Harper) has to show her how to be good.

And that was pretty fun for the first two episodes. Certainly, a lot of CGI budget went into making it fun and giving life to all these fantastic ideas. But after flinging all its great ideas at us in those first two episodes, the next episode felt like something of a spent force. Kristen Bell do bad thing; William Jackson Harper explain to her why it bad; Kristen Bell learn lesson… well, kind of.

That’s not going to be an interesting show to watch. It certainly doesn’t help that the show’s idea of utopia and really good people is that really good people (eg Jameela Jamil’s wealthy quasi English/Pakistani/French/Indian philanthropist) are irritating. It’s like the producers watched Huis Clos (In Camera) and thought to themselves: “Never mind Hell being other people. Heaven’s bound to be just as bad.” Sure, it gives Bell someone to be annoyed at, but it also wants you to quit The Good Place for the Bad Place (Starz).

So what the show’s had to do in its fourth episode is make this an even more imperfect utopia and reveal that Bell’s not the only mistake – another denizen should have been bound for the Bad Place. And that made for a return to the form of the first couple of episodes, since it gave the show a bit more grit and provided a pecking order – the other imperfect denizen is stupider than Bell, so she has someone she can be better than.

With this foundation, I’m a bit more confident about The Good Place going forward. There’s a greater range of plot and character options available to the writers and the jokes seemed better, too. All the same, the Good Place doesn’t really seem like a good place any more. I do wonder if the producers have a message here, but I’ll wait to see what it is.

Barrometer rating: 2
Would it be better with a female lead? N/A
TMINE prediction: Could well get a second season, but I’m not sure if it’s got much more in it than that

In the US: Fridays, 11pm, HBO
In the UK: Sky Atlantic (probably)

Three episodes into HBO’s High Maintenance, in which a pot dealer (show co-creator Ben Sinclair) cycles around New York delivering his wares to various odd individuals, and its clear that the show is neither a comedy nor actually much about Sinclair. It’s really just a series of character studies about odd New Yorkers that happen to have Sinclair as a linking character. Indeed, even that description is a bit loose, since the latest episode barely featured Sinclair and the linking character was a dog.

What is certainly true is that all those character portraits are very different and unlike pretty much you’ll see anywhere else on TV. We’ve had ageing swingers, hijab-wearing Muslim girls, katana-wielding body builders, dog-walkers and street performers. All of them have been give some beautifully observed scenes that make them seem like reaal people; the show’s also attracted some top name actors to the roles (eg Dan Stevens, Amy Ryan), although most of the parts go to unknown character actors.  Frequently, the stories have had a twist in their tails that take them in unexpected directions, too.

But High Maintenance is not always that funny. Frequently, it’s sad, uncomfortable or there’s a threat of violence. It is, after all, about a drug dealer, albeit a pot dealer. That makes it a slightly harder watch than you’d think and not always an enjoyable one.

So it’s only a cautious recommendation from me, despite the quality of the writing. This may work for you or it might be like Marmite. Give it a try, but I won’t be upset if you don’t like it.

Barrometer rating: 2
What it be better with a female lead? No
TMINE prediction: Already renewed for a second season

In the US: Sundays, 8.30/7.30c, Fox

As I said when I previewed the first episode of Son of Zorn, Fox’s live action/animation hybrid in which a cartoon He-Man/Conan the Barbarian type returns to California to help raise his now teenage son, it’s less about the format and more about the detail with Son of Zorn. Over its three episodes, it’s now demonstrated that it can be genuinely funny as both a parody of the likes of He-Man and fantasy in general as well as of modern manners and workplaces.

The show can excel, such as in its third-episode when Zorn declares war with a neighbouring office over one worker’s persistent theft of relishes from the communal fridge. That had consistently laugh out loud moments, such as Zorn disguising himself as ‘an old man’ to venture into the office or the ballard played over the end titles. Genuinely top comedy.

And not just from Zorn. Cheryl Hines as Zorn’s ex- got some great moments, too, as did Tim Meadows as her fiancé.

When Son of Zorn is working well, it can be funny both about fantasy and about real-life. But as we saw with episode two, that’s a delicate balance and hard to pull off. Zorn, after all, is a dick and an episode filled with him being a dick towards his son and women isn’t as enjoyable, which is what we got when he used his ‘Stone of Sight’ essentially to help his son stalk a woman.

Not without laughs for sure, but it’s clear that Son of Zorn works best as a show when it’s being downright silly and outlandish, rather than turning its acute observations too closely at its characters and their worst traits.

Those caveats aside, Son of Zorn has passed Mark Kermode’s Six Laugh Test with every episode with flying colours. While nerdy son is a bit of a waste of time, the rest of the cast, including Zorn (Jason Sudeikis in case you were wondering), are excellent and all get lots to do. As long as the writing holds up, this is going to be regular viewing for me and a quick add to the recommended list.

Barrometer rating: 2
Would it be better with a female lead? No
TMINE’s prediction: Has the potential to run for a good number of seasons