Wandavision ushers in a new era, not only for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), but for television itself. It is the first must-see TV since Game of Thrones. It's what everyone is talking about (online, but maybe we would have discussed in person if not for the pandemic). It was appointment viewing, week to week, liable to crash Disney+ more than once. Everyone had to watch soon so as to avoid spoilers. Of course, because the miniseries is not standalone, we have to watch if we're to follow the increasingly complex MCU plot. A couple dozen movies in, it's too late to quit now. So in that way too, though it's not the first Marvel television show, it is the first for Marvel Studios, making viewing as required as with the blockbuster movies that have defined a generation of movie-going. It is fitting that this landmark sitcom pays homage to the sitcoms of yesteryear. I think the creative experimentation that makes the show unique is its strongest feature. The first couple episodes sending up the sitcoms of the 50s and 60s are the best, before the show dives deep into the MCU lore. Elizabeth Olson especially plays the 50s housewife very convincingly, and later plays Claire Dunphy from Modern Family spot on too. Sitcom actors Randall Park and Kat Dennings both add comic relief in their supporting roles. With each new era, the set changes, the costumes change, the fake "commercials" change, the songs and opening titles change (Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez are on fire) and even the comedy changes. Though the sitcom is a universal genre, our comedic tastes have evolved over the decades. And I quite liked the clever reveal about how American sitcoms comforted Wanda in her Sokovian childhood. It was natural that she would turn to them in her period of grief. Indeed, the central theme of the show is grief, perhaps unusual for the superhero genre.
