This poor blog of mine.
I was about to add not one, but two ‘reviews’ of books I’ve finished reading. One is half written, the other just needs a second read.
Then I was ranting that I’d like a TV show with nice, mysterious undertones, like Dark, but with metaphysics done well. Dark isn’t the case, at least up to season 3. That’s my challenge.
And then, right when I was about to start Dark season 3, just to enjoy it, and with zero expectations about it being meaningful, I found what appeared to be a complete masterpiece in just 20 minutes, and confirmed it with the whole first episode: Dispatches from Elsewhere.
Thinking about it, and aside from the exceptionally good Twin Peaks 3rd season, there were fun & sometime meaningful metaphysical TV series: Russian Doll, Maniac, Lodge 49, Dispatches from Elsewhere. (I’d also add Lucifer, the first three seasons)
The OA too, but it doesn’t qualify as a good standard with the second season, and it retroactively invalidates the first as being mostly “fluff” without anything solid within. At least without some well executed greater revelation that was expected to come later. But that’s not very plausible, and a product still needs to find its legs while it goes. The OA didn’t, faith is low.
After the sidetracks I’m returning to Dark, the challenge is that the set-up doesn’t support what can be a solid wrap-up. This review I saw linked on twitter disagrees:
