The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2017-23)

At the best of times, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel was the funniest show on TV.  I think Amy Sherman-Palladino was well aware of the criticism often levied against it by the New York Jewish viewers. It leaned heavily into Jewish stereotypes, and as the show progressed, it got more and more extreme. She said yes and doubled the ante. The parents were especially overbearing. But they were such genuine characters. And they were hilarious. It's a supremely winning cast.

The final season takes a daring narrative turn. We see several flash forwards, showing us where the characters end up. The rest of the season fills in the gaps to show us how they got there. Similar to Insecure, we see how a tight friendship dissolves. The ending has 3 endings: a televised set, a flashback to a restaurant scene with Luke Kirby, and a flash forward to Midge and Susie. The last one was sweet but I think I could've done without it. It might've been more poignant to end on Wo Hop. Luke Kirby tenderly played Lenny Bruce, a real life legendary comedian. There is a beautiful scene in which he performs All Alone on the Steve Allen show, word for word, beat for beat. It's funny and sad and poignant and perfect. I know Midge and Susie's relationship is the heart of the show, but Lenny is the real history behind the show. It gives the show some more heft above a standard comedy.

The look of the show was gorgeous. The costumes and set design transport you to the glamour of the 60s. It filled that Mad Men sized hole on television. The music drops too were very well done. I think the best arc on the series was when they went to the Catskills, aka the Borscht Belt. Takes you back to Nevele.

Veep (2012-19)

Veep was consistently one of the funniest shows on television. Armando Iannucci's sense of humor is so absurd it's hilarious. It was caustic political satire at its best. The cast was on its A game. Julia Louis-Dreyfus deserved every Emmy win. And I think Tony Hale as bag man Gary was brilliant. Even the supporting guest stars were fully developed characters. Mina Hakkinen never failed to make me laugh. We'll miss this cast of misfits.

Venom (2018)

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, no one takes themselves too seriously. This movie never really strikes the right tone. The concept is so absurd and yet no one seems to appreciate that. It is only mildly tempered with some humor towards the end that is not even all that funny. This movie is Venom's origin story. It is unclear for a very long time what Eddie Brock has to do with the opening scene in Malaysia. We never really get a proper explanation of what the alien life forms want. Nor does it really matter. Because the focus of Venom's origin story is surrounds Elon Musk--I mean Carlton Drake. Tell us what you really think about that psycho. Also, they make such a big deal out of how difficult it is to find a suitable host that could survive the parasite bonding. Then halfway through the movie, they never have this problem again. We were initially led to believe that there was something special about Eddie that he was able to bond perfectly, but then all of a sudden, everyone can bond. The dialogue is really bad, Tom Hardy is OK, and the visual effects are kind of neat.