Quickest of guides: Fun Shows, I
1. WINNING TIME: THE RISE OF THE LAKERS DYNASTY
It’s 80s. It’s fast and loose. It’s NBA’s glamour and bling origins. It’s John C. Reilly. It’s the lady who did Mrs. Doubtfire. It’s Adam McKay as exec producer and pilot director.
Winning Time is vintage HBO docuseries, as it portrays the rise and fall of one of the biggest NBA teams to ever play the (in my eyes) most beautiful sport of all (come to think of it, tennis is also beautiful, isn’t it?)
Like Jerry Buss says, “basket’s just like sex, it’s got rhythm and pace and every player plays it in his unique way.” Then he buys the whole thing. And then Magic Johnson.
Boom. You’ve got yourselves a great show!
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2. CHAINSAW MAN
I gotta thank the dudes at #CorridorCrew for this one.
Turned out to be one of the funniest surprises so far. Title and promo stills say it all: it’s a dude who turns into Chainsaw Man. Tip to toes, #gameon, let Denji slice and dice.
Modern anime premises are followed (hero associations versus devil hunting/hero contracts with devils) and vintage Japanese must-dos are also present (underachiever protagonist, slowly but surely becomes OP/protagonist has a devil inside him) which translate into a sophisticated, kinda pervy but absolutely stellar piece of anime.
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3. FOUNDATION
In this day and age of… absense of ideas and clear statements of originality, Foundation brings some proper cards to the table.
Based on Isaac Asimov’s short stories from the 1950s (that would later inspire every Star franchise of your menu: Star Wars, Star Trek, StarGate but NOT Starbucks, of course:), David. S Goyer (former Chris Nolan co-writer) delivers a bold and solid show.
Where it sometimes lacks in the cast’s performances (no way these dudes can top The Expanse, #beltalowda!), it absolutely excels in world building (the Genetic Empire, Rebellion, Spacers, Demerzel, jumps, Gaal, Salvor, The Vault and the lot).
Season 1 is all about some proper exposition to get you warmed up.
Season 2 takes a breather and ventures into some cheap and cheesy intergalactic telenovela storylines, but still… some shots are stunning, visuals and overall atmospherics are riveting and I can even cope with Bear McCreary’s John William-esque soundtrack.
Four out of five (neutron) stars.
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