SasaS

Gravenberch is ready, Bradley back in training.

I tried ep2 of Last One Laughing - I am just left scratching my head. The problem isn't how good or bad the comedians are (it obviously helps if you like them, but you really have to like them), it's that the concept is suicidal - even when they come up with some good lines, they are immediately undermined by the flat reaction, it constantly feels like comedians dying on stage in front of a hostile or indifferent audience. And the only people laughing are "the friends table in the left corner" in the control room, with Roisin Conaty repeating "oh this is so funny" as if she is trying to convince herself and others.

I started watching this, apparently it's a Japanese format and I am not sure it works. It's a bit annoying this look how funny we are, how can we possibly not make each other laugh attitude. I had no problem not laughing so far.

For an isolationist America First administration, Trump's people sure have a lot of opinions on how other countries are behaving and what they should be doing.

Asian.

Dennis Lehane's Black Bird. 6/10. Pretty mediocre.

It's Disney's cultural appropriation of a German folk tale everybody is upset about.

Justified was pretty average first season.

Rodion Timofeievich Goslov and Ilya Vladimirovich Moskovcev? Naah, never.

Mediazona hits 100,000 names of Russians KIA in Ukraine war. Plus 2,007 in 14 days to 100,001. They also complain of deliberately fake obituaries. https://en.zona.media/article/2025/03/28/casualties_eng-trl

Someone called me after I've seen the ep1, I needed 5 minutes to call them back as I couldn't speak. The ending wasn't so strong for me, since it was already sort of defined by what went on before. The Adolescence thread seems to be all about the Tates and incels and I feel this is only one of the motifs here, maybe not even the most important one (despite what even the creators might say). Just hope the series does not kick start some culture war type of situation. Again. You said he was good in LoD and bad in Adolescence.

The only problem with Adolescence is that it hits emotional peak at the end of the first episode (in which the one-shot direction works best, because this creates the effect of intimacy) and then has to climb back again never quite getting it. And the episode 3, with the almost one dialogue one episode approach (reminiscent of that episode in Horace & Pete by now cancelled Louis CK) occasionally walks perilously close to being extravagant showing off (each envelope pushing drama apparently must have one episode where mannerism gets the better of its creators) but manages to stay on course. I'd say acting is probably the last thing you can fault it. It will probably remain the best thing we've seen on TV this year. If not longer.