Watched: Mystery Science Theater 3000, Season 11 [tv]

I've loved MST3K for a long time. I watched the show as it aired when I was a kid with my family. I can remember Saturday afternoons as being reserved for the show, coming home from wherever I was to get back in time for snacks and our favorite program to watch together (I have similar memories of TNG). MST3K had a huge influence on my sense of humor and my appreciation for imaginative, silly, absurdist, and simultaneously high-brow/low-brow style of television shows. And I have followed these guys throughout their careers, especially with Rifftrax, the post-MST3K project of my favorite of the hosts Mike and friends. Anyway, all of this is to say I was nervous about the revival of the show with a new host (Jonah), new mads (Felicia Day and Patton Oswald) and mostly a new writers' room. And while there are tweaks in the basic premise, some a return to original form and some acknowledging interesting changes made in the later seasons, plus an uptick in the pace of the joke delivery during the films, at its heart season 11 still feels like the show I know and love. I started screen-capping just to grab the cameos and some fun skit moments and there are a few shots from films in there but about halfway into the season I decided to just enjoy it. I may go back at some point and write about the individual movies because they picked a really great batch for this effort, and I was happy to see that the selection moved beyond the strictly sci-fi angle of the SciFi Channel days to include lots of silly B-movie genres.

Watched: American Gods, season 1 [tv]

I started reading American Gods a few months before the pilot of the tv adaptation aired for a few reasons. First, the book and the author (Neil Gaiman) had been recommended to me before and it seemed like his writing (fantasy hidden away in everyday normalcy, with hints of surreality or absurdity) would by right in my wheelhouse. It definitely was; I devoured American Gods in a little over a week and quickly did the same with The Anansi Boys. Both are fantastic books and made me really excited for the television version. The other reason I even read the book and why I was so excited for this particular take on Gaiman's story of an American in which immigrants import and then strand their gods within the USA is that the showrunner is one of my all-time favorites, Bryan Fuller. Bryan Fuller always gets, at the very least, an open mind from me, if not a full ass on anything he does. He's the man behind Wonderfalls, the beginnings of Dead Like Me, and one of my top-ten, must see, best ever, watch anytime I'm feeling sad or lonely shows, Pushing Daisies. I also loved the first season of Hannibal although I haven't watched any further I'll get back to it one day. Long story long, Bryan Fuller is great and as soon as I heard he was the one running things on this show I wanted to read the book and get on board. It is DEFINITELY worth it to read the book first as some things go a bit unexplained or even remain obscure in its first season. By the final episode I think non-book readers will more or less get what's going on but going into season one with prior knowledge also allows for a deeper appreciation of smaller references to the book or mythology of the characters (I happily watched each episode twice just to catch these subtle hints) as well as an appreciation for the moments when the show deviates from the novel and how it brings a fuller, more fleshed out cast of characters to life.

Anyway, it's great and Showtime continues to be an underrated channel that brings an element of bombastic, satisfying storytelling that it sometimes feels like HBO considers itself too highbrow for (*cough cough Spartacus, Twin Peaks revival, Masters of Sex, Dexter, The Affair, DEAD LIKE ME*). Highly recommend catching up on this first season and jumping on board for the next one because this show feels like it could be one of the all-time greats. Great casting, great acting, great use of effects, great pacing and great storytelling. 

Here are some beautiful moments, without context (okay maybe a little context), from season one.

The first time I noticed his glass eye (which is a very important character detail).

Gillian Anderson as the god of Media is every bit as fantastic as you might expect. She doesn't show up a whole lot in this season but every time she does she is unbelievably creepy and perfect.

  

PERFECT.

It's the best friend from Wonderfalls!! I wish she was in more things.

PERFECTER.