Keeping a good thought, and getting on topic:
For those of us both with Disney+, and who are also so inclined, we'll have the opportunity to kick off that Wednesday with the first two episodes of the six-part Hawkeye series, the latest entry from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In large part it's a legacy tale, setting up a young, female character to take on the titular mantle. Stars Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, and will both introduce at least one new action character (Echo, a deaf character with an aptitude for duplicating fighting styles she's seen), while also bring us the first new appearance of Yelena Belova, the new Black Widow (played by Florence Pugh), since we were introduced to her during the Black Widow movie.
As mentioned, the first two episodes drop Wednesday, then there'll be one new one each week through December 22nd. So, starting just before Thanksgiving and ending a few days before Christmas - which fits in with the time frame of the series itself.
Landing that same day (Wednesday) over on Amazon Prime is the third (and final) season of the action drama series Hanna. I'm left in a weird, senior moment state where I can't 100% recall if I got around to season two...
On Thanksgiving (the 25th) itself, on Netflix, an anime, super-action series, part of Mark Millar's Millarworld block of properties, lands. It's the less-than-stunningly-named Super Crooks. On Disney+, starting on Thanksgiving, we'll finally get to see the first of three parts of Peter Jackson's documentary The Beatles: Get Back. Originally intended to be a much shorter theatrical release, the timing of the pandemic pushed Jackson even deeper into his editing process (he ultimately spent roughly four years of studio work on it) and saw the project evolve into three, 2-hour long parts, which we'll see that Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Jackson had access to roughly 57 hours of film and 140 hours of audio, previously from which Michael Lindsay-Hogg's 1970 documentary Let It Be was assembled. Jackson took pains to avoid reusing any of the film that appeared in that earlier film, and used film restoration techniques developed for They Shall Not Grow Old to restore a vibrancy to the footage. A substantial difference between this new project and the 1970 documentary is that the earlier film had an overall negative tone, and felt more like a headstone for The Beatles, whereas much of the source footage spotlights the camaraderie and fun that was still an integral part of the band-mates even in what would prove to be their final sessions as a group. I'm looking forward to this. As for things that are either already here or which will be available sooner...
I'll begin by pointing back to last week's piece, where I mentioned The Wheel of Time fantasy series getting started on Amazon Prime, and the live-action version of futuristic bounty hunter noir anime Cowboy Bebop landing on Netflix - both as of today.
Also noted last week, the new season of Star Trek: Discovery began yesterday on Paramount+, and it hit the ground running.
Also newly-arrived on Netflix is another Korean import. Season 1 (6 episodes) of Hellbound, centers on people who gain foreknowledge of their own deaths and fates in the afterlife, and are subsequently hunted by "death angels."
The current marketing reference point, especially as this is also from Korea, is the speculation that this might be "the next Squid Game," which only means they're hoping a week or two from now it'll trend strong for viewers and be a hot topic. As this is directed and co-written by Sang-ho Yeon, who made his huge international splash with the fast-zombie/contagion instant classic Train To Busan, I'm encouraged.
This one caught my attention strongly enough that I'm four episodes into it, and aside from a couple, short-term quibbles, I've been enjoying it -- complete with rollercoastering emotions.
We see that however seemingly implacable the supernatural threat, the one from other humans ends up being arguably worse. I'm very interested in seeing how this plays out, given the concept twists.
Something that, if you care, you're likely already aware of, is that there's a second season of "reality" show Tiger King. I'm one of those who didn't make it past the promotional materials with the first season, despite the pandemic, so I can't tell you anything more about it than what they show in the trailer... and if you watched the earlier season I'm guessing it'll all mean something more to you than it does to me. Every time I got anywhere near the show I wondered why I'd want to spend any time with these people, and never came up with
One last one for Netflix - tossed in here more for the sake of variety than immediate interest on my part, is a musical about a man on the cusp of 30, coming to terms with his life. Starring Andrew Garfield, written by Jonathan (Rent) Larson directed by Hamilton creator Lin Manuel-Miranda It's the semi-autobiographical (Larson's) Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021 115m). What I believe is the last of the Marvel Television development shows - from back when they were keeping those separate (they were folded into Marvel Studios operations in 2019, where several of the planned projects were humanely snuffed) - reached Hulu this week. It's a Marvel show largely only inasmuch as Marvel comics published some comics involving him circa 2010, some of which included other Marvel heroes/villains and anti-heroes, including Deadpool and Spider-man. It's Hit-Monkey.
So, it's here, in its spot on Hulu, and should offer some violent action and fun if one's in a receptive turn of mind. The voice cast includes Jason Sudeikis, George Takei, and Olivia Munn. Ten episodes, each running between 22 and 27 minutes, all dropped in place at the same time. A tip from old pal L. Laney Loftin put me on to a series of roughly 7 to 15-minute pieces that spotlight failed, single-season shows, providing an overview, background and highlights. Called 13 Week Theater, it's available on YouTube.
The majority of these were tv failures I was aware of, though in many cases not ones I'd seen as their low number of episodes and lack of success made them unlikely to be syndicated. Fun not only for the general theme of debacle, but also in remembering failed shows that contained later stars, some that might have hit in another time, and even one or two that were likely cancelled too hastily, like the 1965-'66 Gidget, which fizzled during the main season but became a breakout hit during summer reruns... too late to call everything back, as actors had been released from contacts and the studio demolished the sets.
There are also episodes focusing on CBS and NBC's failed attempts to cash in on the 1966 camp superhero show splash that ABC's Batman had, Mr. Terrific and Captain Nice. Of course, there's an episode for Fred Silverman's near network-bankrupting 1979 failure, Supertrain, too.
Here's the 13 Week Theater series promo. Surely, there are more than enough suggestions above on which to squander your waking hours in the coming week! Take care, and ideally we'll all be back here next Friday, fat(ter), happier, and looking for the next thing to watch. - Mike
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