TV's Pretty Great Right Now

12/2/2021

I've started writing again, but there's not much to talk about yet, so let's talk about what I'm doing on my free time.

Why is there so much TV coming out right now?

We just finished Arcane, we've got the Witcher coming up, I've really been enjoying Hawkeye, obviously I marathoned all of JoJo Part 6 instantly, and the new season of Sunny is starting.

A lot of people ask me how I feel about Wheel of Time, which makes sense, since WoT is probably my favorite fantasy series. My honest answer: it's fine.

I'm not over the moon about it like I was for Arcane, but I expected to hate it. I don't hate it. I think it's pretty good. Though I did just finish watching the fifth episode of WoT, which was definitely the weakest of the season so far, but Brandon Sanderson says Episode 6 is his favorite.

My hope is strong!

It's hard enough to keep up with everything coming out nowadays, but what's your favorite thing airing now? What have you been watching? Did I miss anything? Should I have talked more about JoJo?

Yes, I should have? You want me to monologue for hours about JoJo? Well, if you insist.

-Will

62 Comments

April

12/2/2021 07:36:50 pm

I’m enjoy WoT as well. I don’t watch much TV though, so I can’t tell you what you are missing.

Probably some sort of sewing show. You are probably missing all of those.

Cameron

12/2/2021 07:38:57 pm

You should check out Letterkenny on Hulu... just maybe skip S1E3

Tim

12/3/2021 06:06:43 am

I'll second letterkenney. Who doesn't love a show about Canadian rednecks

Mike

12/3/2021 09:11:03 am

I will third that! Letterkenny is hilarious

K. Webb

12/2/2021 07:48:03 pm

Ok, what is JoJo?

Brian

12/2/2021 07:56:29 pm

JoJo is short for JoJo's Bizarre Adventures, a popular manga / anime

Lazuras Long

12/3/2021 06:17:14 am

Anime on acid

B. Hodler

12/4/2021 04:32:35 pm

This is the perfect description of JoJos lol

Jesse Ponnambalam

12/7/2021 09:00:54 pm

Noniiiiii!

Kara

12/2/2021 07:50:07 pm

I was definitely surprised by how much I liked Arcane! Glad to hear Hawkeye was good as that’s on my list after WoT. I actually uh didn’t like he WoT books (only read the first one) but am hopeful the show will be enjoyable and will entertain me before witcher comes back.

12/2/2021 07:56:55 pm

A relatively long running anime series, usually revolving around a member of the Joestar family

Adam

12/2/2021 07:52:33 pm

Will, do you watch great British bake show? Please watch it if you haven't. Also check out the last kingdom.

Noell Milota

12/3/2021 09:06:43 am

Last Kingdom is fantastic!!

Natalia

12/2/2021 08:43:46 pm

I haven’t watch Arcane yet, but on my list. I’m currently binging (for the second time) The Last Kingdom on Netflix. I am not one of eloquence of speech, but I will say that this series is 100% worth your time. Characters you love and antagonists you love to hate, all sprinkled with action, adventure, loss, love, and a bit of humor of course. Better than Vikings, IMO. I agree with your sentiments on Wheel of Time.
We care about the intimate details of your life, Will. Please share more of your couch adventures to come.

Matt

12/2/2021 09:45:32 pm

And the books are even better than the show! I can't recommend them enough if you're a historical fiction fan.

Kevin

12/2/2021 09:10:46 pm

I really enjoyed the new live action cowboy bee bop. I think they did a really good job of honoring the show and still make it silly,fun, dark noir cop action that it is :)

Jeff

12/3/2021 07:59:56 am

I second this. Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I actually liked the live action more than the original anime series. The way they restructured the story just made so much more sense to me. Excellently done, Netflix.

Matthew

12/3/2021 08:58:58 pm

I didn't love the live-action Bebop more than the anime, but I DID enjoy it, and then all my friends are ranting about how it ruined their childhood. It's a different beast than the anime, focuses more on continuity and things like that, but it's by no means bad.

Bryan

12/2/2021 10:41:10 pm

Season 2 of The Great came out as well! Huzzah! Great show.

12/3/2021 03:39:30 am

Yey, I'm enjoying Part 6 too. Been my fav part since I read it so its nice to see it finally getting adapted.

Charlie

12/3/2021 03:41:14 am

I have been enjoying the Beatles documentary on Disney+. I like the Beatles, not a crazy BeatHead (idk) but it’s a really cool documentary. The way it’s done makes you feel like a fly on the wall. Super cool!

Josh

12/3/2021 05:08:02 am

Cowboy Bebop on Netflix was great. Never watched the animated version so can’t speak to the accuracy but I binged all of them.

Grumpy

12/3/2021 05:15:05 am

I had to give up on WOT, it just frustrated me with every episode. I have a pet peeve when a TV show changes the authors work to make it more political acceptable. If you choose to recreate an authors work you should be faithful in the content of that successful work. Nobody would have blinked if the tv show said there ware 3 possible dragons, but now there are a posible 4? I might come back to the series down the road but show has been a disappointment at this point and changes do not bode well for the long term future.

Sense 101

12/3/2021 06:53:51 am

I agree with that so much, but it isn't only films. So many good books are ruined nowadays in reprints and I hate how people ruin classics just because they think that everything has to be exactly equal. I'm sure in a few years time all films will only have female protagonists because of "equality"!

12/3/2021 07:45:37 am

I agree 100%. To me there’s nothing worse than following a book series and getting excited about someone making a movie/series that’s completely different than the books. WOT series would be great if I hadn’t read the books. From that standpoint I’m very disappointed. I hope when Cradle gets a series Will keeps some creative control over production. Thanks for voicing my thoughts Grumpy.

Marc link

1/8/2022 12:01:52 am

A fine example is LOTR ~ I read that Trilogy 21 times over the years so the casting annoyed me ~ Aragorn needed to be taller darker and deeper voiced. Frodo was too delicate. There were errors in the plot ( the Elven Army did not participate in Helms Deep ) On the other hand, the Hobbit movies were brilliant because a tiny book was expanded to 3 movies which gave the movie makers more free rein.

Dissenting Opinion

12/4/2021 01:40:12 am

I disagree. Every media is its own thing, it’s own canon, and should be judged on its own merits. There are narrative devices make great books great, but would be arduous to watch on any screen. I’m sure the opposite is true as well. And that doesn’t even get into pacing, costuming and everything else you have to budget. The Dresden Files before well on TV, it’s was just REALLY expensive to produce. TV and movies will always go in a different direction than the books.

12/5/2021 01:30:35 pm

Track records have proven itself over and over when you start changing the original source material the series fails. The only exception to that I recall was game of thrones, until they ran out of source material. I hope your right and I am wrong, I would be happy to come back to the show in a year of two and catch up.

1/7/2022 11:56:38 pm

I read all 14 books of WOT so obviously I enjoyed it but it was a long time ago. Frankly all I can remember is being annoyed about the interminable description of dresses ( material, buttons, style etc. ) and the obvious Nazi overtones of the black shirts. So I'm LOVING this series which focuses more on the action. Cast is good, Rosamund Pike is brilliant. So far so good and I'm hungry for more !

Ryan

12/3/2021 05:17:34 am

Mushoku Tensei (jobless reincarnation) - it's an Isekai but a good one.

Lost in Space Season 3 just dropped. It's heavy drama which I usually avoid. But the sci Fi element is strong. Lots of space scenes, ships in flight, robots... It looks fantastic. But ya lots of drama especially season 1

Tyler P

12/3/2021 07:43:21 am

I started WoT and couldn't get past episode 1. I'll give it another try later in the season maybe.

I watched all of Netflix Cowboy Bebop and really enjoyed it. went back and re-watched the anime and found it surprisingly faithful for a live action adaptation. I'm excited for season 2.

Bamf

12/3/2021 11:30:56 am

Episode 1 is the weakest of the first 4.
I haven't watched episode 5 yet though.

Jason

12/3/2021 12:03:09 pm

It gets much better after the first 3 episodes. Episode 1 is downright bad IMHO. Horrible set up for them leaving the 2Rivs Janky Love with Perrin.. like why was she at home crushin iron? and Bella is played by a male horse.
Don't go into it wanting a faithful retelling.. its going to be a telling and accept it for what it is. Then you will find joy.

Komodo Dragon

12/3/2021 07:53:24 am

I thought TV meant Traveler's Gate 😔.

Mac

12/3/2021 08:21:30 am

I'm rewatching Hunter x Hunter with my sister (her first time through). It's one of my favorites, but I still somehow forgot how great it is.

I'm also watching Mushoku Tensei on my own.

I'll be watching the 3rd season of Lost in Space once I catch up on the 2nd season.

And I'll be finishing Arcane sometime soon.

Steve

12/3/2021 10:59:14 am

Agreed about episode 5 of WoT. I felt like it spent a lot of time on stuff that wasn't really very relevant to the plot. I wanted to see Siuan and the Hall, and was disappointed when we didn't.

Hadn't heard that ep 6 had the Sanderson endorsement though; now I'm really excited for next week's episode!

Chris

12/3/2021 11:33:17 am

I would recommend foundation. I am really enjoying that. Also for all mankind is really good as an alternate space race perspective. But I am hanging out for the next season of the boys to drop. That has been excellent. Not minding WoT but hoping it goes longer than one season. So many book to tv series just die. Chronicles of Shanara and the seeker to name a few.

Mark

12/4/2021 01:53:07 am

Was the seeker about The Dark is Rising?

Bob smith

12/4/2021 05:28:06 am

Sword of truth, terry goodkind, good series but I recall it becoming preachy on morals towards the end

stephen eric

12/3/2021 12:20:33 pm

Have you tried Hit Monkey or M.O.D.O.K. on Hulu? They are better than they have any right to be

12/4/2021 01:51:30 am

I thought Palm Springs was good, who would have thought Hulu had it in them

12/4/2021 06:02:08 am

I didn't see that. I'll check it out. Theyve had some stuff in the past that was fun too. Quick draw comes to mind.

moosushie

12/3/2021 02:35:02 pm

I just started Naruto last night and am pumped I won't need another anime for awhile lol. Just finished Foundation on Apple TV but haven't read the book(s?). Was good sci- fi on its own however.

12/3/2021 03:49:55 pm

Dude you gotta binge Ted Lasso. It’s a show about grumpy people who are contrasted by one nice dude. Then they reveal their begrudging sometimes niceiahness. (Fuck)

Bayle

12/3/2021 06:14:05 pm

I do agree with weakness of S01E05 of WoT. It do be filler. The show do be too early for filler!

The_DemoCorgins

12/3/2021 07:44:39 pm

I want to hear your JoJo monologues lol

Juan Hh

12/4/2021 12:54:23 am

I am enjoying WOT at the moment, not as good as the books but I'm trying to watch it for what it it is. back in the day, I watched legend of the seeker, the sword of truth TV series by terry goodkind, and I hated it, but I tried watching it again with an open mind and I enjoyed it. I do hate how they changed the 3 to 4 dragons, but what can you do. TV has to be so dang PC these days it is annoying. I would think Robert Jordan would be annoyed by this. Foundations on Apple TV was fantastic, all 10 episodes were great. invasion on apple tv is really good as well. I saw ep1 of Cowboy bee bop and so far am enjoying it. Acapulko on Apple TV is really funny if you need something really light and fun to watch.

Peregrino

12/4/2021 08:15:22 am

The watch, definitely. Only on ep 5 but it's pretty strong, which surprised me. Darker than Terry Pratchett's books, but every time they've tried to adapt his works in the same humorous style they've fallen quite flat.
Humour is more understated, but the actor playing Vimes is awesome. Definitely overacting, but it suits the series so well. A completely useless and underpowered character given an impossible task, but he he basically accomplishes it with just bravado and grit.
And don't get me started on Death! He clearly loves his job but is completely unappreciated and so awkward he reminds me of my teenage self

12/4/2021 11:16:20 am

Last season of The Expanse starts next week as well, another show I'd highly recommend!

Cres

12/4/2021 12:08:10 pm

Yes you should haha. Jojo is my favorite anime, it sits up the top followed closely by Dr. Stone.

Dana

12/4/2021 02:36:05 pm

Succession on HBO is one of my favorites atm, and Barry too! whenever a new season of that comes out.

Scott Pike

12/4/2021 07:36:48 pm

My favorite fantasy series growing up was Wheel of Time, Sanderson's cosmere is my current , sorry Will. But your my favorite progressiong story. The TV show has streangths and weakness as of the 5th episode. The overemphasize the female characters without the streangth of the male characters allowed to be expressed so far, baring Lan. I think part of that may be current day political thoughts about men and part the show runners need to generate mystery about who the Dragon will be. While I can at least appreciate the later reason it has coused them to focus on some things away from some character development at the cost of the story, which is always the wrong choice. Even so, I understand why mystery is a necessary element for a tv show to get all the new people who haven't read the books to discuss it week to week and keep them interested and get them invested. I also object to the pacing of the show and few number of episodes. I know cost is a concern but there are some really great scenes where people are doing nothing much more than talking and if they had included those scenes I'm sure they would have at least five more episodes for season 1. They have also caused Moraine to say things that blame the breaking on the arrogance of man beliveing they could imprison the dark one, even though in the books she knows historically it was that or the Dark One breaking free and destroying the world. Things like that and abscent informative scenes in the main show means it work as well as the book. Some changes had to be made for television but some changes don't make proper setup for the story. You actually have to go to bonus material to have some aspects explained, which if you don't watch it on your web browser you can't see it on the prime video app. Things like the breaking, the different sides of the one power and the taint. That is a failure of story telling.

Even so, I do like the show. It isn't great, it isn't bad, it is middle of the road. If there is one area it is great though is ACTING. Every actory has such presence and acting that they sell it. Even when there is a crap line they usually sell through sheer presence and skill. They actors are really what pull us through an uneven level of quality scritp writng.

Scotchbottle

12/5/2021 07:08:16 pm

Hey Will, have you read Dungeon Crawler Carl?

12/5/2021 09:50:37 pm

Battlebots new season Jan 6!

Although I have a toddler so I'm lucky if I get to watch 2 different Frozen movies in a single day.... Usually it's just one on loop.

Brian S

12/7/2021 08:42:52 pm

I will say this about WOT, the genetic diversity of the secluded mountain village of the Two Rivers cracked me up. Just to think they have all the genetic diversity of a modern American city in one little village. I'm almost surprised they didn't throw in a guy in drag.

Overall, I've found it disappointing, but not surprisingly so. They left out at least two cities entirely so far, most important being Caemlyn, which begs the question of how they are going to introduce some of the stories key characters that were discovered in that city. If you didn't read the books, you'd just think Mat was a major douch instead of someone who is losing himself to a curse. So far it looks more like fan fic then anything else.

DrunkDuck

12/13/2021 04:18:37 am

Haha .. I was thinking the exact same thing 😂

The original settlers must have picked up people from all origins on their way to the two rivers ..

That scene where all those diverse people engage in a country dance.. hilarious

S. James

12/9/2021 06:37:28 am

I’ve really been enjoying Star Trek: Discovery, it’s certainly worth your time.

Harshdeep

12/11/2021 05:07:15 pm

Damn. We binge the same content.

The best thing about part 6 is that part 7 is next.
Also, is it just me or is season 15 relying too much on shock factor or political incorrectness, instead of "Sunny Funny", i.e. horrible takes on daily life.

bill

12/15/2021 06:16:25 am

so.....are you planning to sell the rights to "cradle" to Netflix or Amazon or Disney? who would you choose to direct it? would it be animated, or CGI-heavy reality?

:^)

(could say the same of the Traveller's Gate series - what a miniseries that would make!)

12/20/2021 01:49:35 pm

I stopped watching on the first episode after what they did to Perrin.
It ruined my day honestly.

Dion

1/19/2022 05:48:16 am

Wheel of Time is terrible. I have the benefit of posting this after all 8 episodes are released. It fails as a stand alone series without knowledge of the source material, and it fails even more when accounting for the books.

I recognize things have to be changed because the medium is different, but the changes they made actually emphasize the limitations of the medium. For example, the focus on warder/aes sedai bond for 1.5 out of 8 episodes in a way that doesn't impact the story at all, meanwhile every male character other than Lan has no character development and almost no contribution to the story most especially the Dragon Reborn.

And I don't know where you go after episode 8. 2 Mary Sues whose actions make no sense, and again the Dragon Reborn, the only character development we have is that he loves one of the Mary Sues.

Mrbi11

1/19/2022 07:07:19 pm

The expanse

In which we ramble on.
And by we, I mean me.