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David McK (3692 KP) rated Agatha All Along in TV

Nov 8, 2024 (Updated Nov 8, 2024)  
Agatha All Along
Agatha All Along
2024 |
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
TV Show Rating
Possibly the best of the modern MCU TV shows since their first (Wandavision), of which this is a sort of spin-off as it follows the break-out star of that pervious series in Kathryn Hahn's Agatha Harkness.

As the show starts, she is still in Westview and still under the Scarlet Witches spell, but it's not long - tail end of the first episode - before she is free of said spell, and travelling down the heretofore believed to be mythical Witches Road in search of her lost power in the company of several others, including Joe Locke's Teen and Aubrey Plaza's Rio Vidal, both of whom have connections to Agatha's past life in particular ...
  
American Gods  - Season 1
American Gods - Season 1
2017 | Drama
It now exists (0 more)
Doesn't meet expectations (0 more)
I read the book quite some time ago, so knew the concept of the series but needed a little gentle reminder of the world we are exploring.
The series is very stylish with excellent dream sequences and imagery throughout, a la Hannibal, however at times I felt this dominated the actual storytelling somewhat.
With something like Hannibal, you don't need to worry about the story too much, people get killed, someone is doing it, twists and turns and suspect caught. So it was right for the focus of that series to be on the imagery rather than the telling.
However, here I think the story and concept are quite hard to get used to initially (and I don't think it really gets nailed at all during the series) and more should have been done to explain it. I'm not saying everything needs laid out neatly with a little bow on, but I think the style needed toned down a little and more effort invested in explaining the world. It felt a little bit like a TV show made for people who have just read the book.
The cast is excellent and it is an enjoyable watch, but a lot of people will struggle to get the hang of it (and may only stick with it in order to say they did rather than because they enjoyed it!).
With such a cult classic book as the source material, I think there were high expectations for it, which may not have been met (mine weren't, sadly).
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated Unbelievable in TV

Oct 16, 2019  
Unbelievable
Unbelievable
2019 | Drama
A hard to watch but a must watch mini series
This is a true-crime story done so right. It focuses on a series of rapes so if that’s a trigger for you; stay well away; there is detail about the rapes.

I came across the story from a podcast episode on This American Life which had based an episode on the Pulitzer Prize-winning article “An Unbelievable Story of Rape” and was rerunning the story because of this series coming out. It’s a hard-hitting story that strongly shines a light on the issues between differences of how victims can be treated. This adaptation does the story justice and is an engrossing watch.

We start off meeting Marie a young woman fresh out of the foster system who is raped by an intruder; her story and in particular how she is treated are hard to watch but important for people to understand the full horror of having to come forward as a victim.

As the series progresses we still see Marie’s journey but more of the action is on investigations into other rapes in different jurisdictions. We meet Det. Karen Duvall and Det. Grace Rasmussen who are both great and the story gets easier to watch as we see them get down to some hard-hitting police work.

What sets this apart in the current influx of true-crime TV is the real focus on the victims rather than the all too common focus on the perpetrator. It works so well; making a strong emotional watching experience.
  
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Orange is the New Black: My Time in a Women's Prison
Orange is the New Black: My Time in a Women's Prison
Piper Kerman | 2016 | Biography
8
7.4 (18 Ratings)
Book Rating
Brutally honest and well structured (0 more)
Could be slow at times (0 more)
Better that the netflix series
When I lifted this book from the shelve I thought it had been put in the wrong section as I was looking for memoir. I was delighted however, when I turned the book over and the blurb revealed that is was in fact a memoir. I had just finished watching all three series of 'Orange is the New Black' on Netflex and had quickly become a fan. The TV program is very thinly based on Kerman's actual experience and because of this I cannot make comparisons. The novel stands alone as an intelligent and well structured memoir that reads like fiction. The author portrays her time in prison through her connection with the other female prisoners and the way in which they were/are forced to endure prison life. The book is emotional, funny and heartbreaking. Kerman has captured a time in her life with precision that only a true writer can. I feel like I could have been there with her. Well done.