Special Collaborative Issue: Sharing our Recommendations - January
With Jenny and Mari.
Well here we are! After a failed attempt of this project in the beginning of 2023, Mari and Jenny are once again trying to share their journey of sharing recommendations to each other. How this works is, Chamari and Jenny each choose a piece of media for the other to consume that they have never seen before. Preferably, this would be a film or TV episode that the chooser loves and feels is worth sharing, and something the viewer would also find appealing.
To kick off 2024, we’ve decided to recommend award-winning TV episodes to each other. Chamari chose the very first episode of Mindhunter while Jenny chose the episode “Blink” from Doctor Who. Here are some of our impressions and thoughts from watching and choosing our episodes.
MINDHUNTER SEASON 1, EPISODE 1
Jenny (viewer): Well, that was certainly an episode! Fun fact, I didn’t realize, but my Netflix account informed me that I’ve apparently watched the episode before - I just didn’t remember it! (This might be a running theme, as I am known to have selective memory.) I enjoyed the overall structure of the episode, especially how they made sure to introduce Jonathan Groff’s character in action before going into the main plot. I have to say, murder and true crime is not usually a genre I enjoy consuming, but I could tell the episode was very well made! But in addition to the genre, I tend to steer away from media that feel “very American” (westerns, police procedurals, revolutionary war era period drama, etc. unless there’s a twist like Westworld (sci-fi), Brooklyn 99 (comedy) or Hamilton (musical)) just because they don’t… interest me as much. I think that unfortunately played a part in my ~ viewing experience ~ of Mindhunter. As perhaps the most shallow impression, the episode just featured too many places and too few women! And I understand that the show was kinda based on real life, but I think I can live without learning more about the crimes they discuss on the show and still appreciate the impact that these real life people had. Nevertheless, Jonathan Groff was very charming in a nerdy way in his role, the production design seems insane(ly good, though what do I know as someone not really interested in 1970s America), and while the writing seemed a little exposition-y at times I never got bored!
So all in all, great show, I can see why people like it, but unfortunately not for me! (Though for continuity's sake, I watched two more episodes to confirm this was my impression and sadly… yes it is indeed.)
My final rating… is 3 out of 5 stars.
Mari (chooser): I appreciate that Jenny watched two more episodes! If I’m remembering correctly, Season 1 starts kind of slow, so this is a fair impression of the show so far! Unfortunately, the show continues to feature too few women (considering the setting and the very nature of the FBI and violent serial crime) but Season 2 stays in one city and is kind of the best thing to ever happen to television! Not to mention they haven’t even started interviewing serial killers yet, which becomes an exercise and a testament in how to write excellent dialogue (and essentially the focal point of Season 1).
The first five minutes of episode 1 really tells you how much we’re dealing with elevated television. It’s engaging, shocking and informative and as Jenny said, starting with seeing a main character in action will never not get my gears going. I get a thrill whenever we begin to see a character who’s great at their job. Also, for context, Jenny doesn’t like murder and true crime, but I LOVE murder and true crime… well, when it’s ethically created in television form.
This episode, and this show at large, really interrogates the very nature of crime and why/how it happens and that is FASCINATING to me. The academic lens it takes into examining crime doesn’t feel pretentious or eye-roll inducing, but super inquisitive and appealing.
One of my favorite scenes (maybe in television ever) is the scene between Holden and Debbie at the bar where they’re shouting over the music. Just good fun! I don’t remember particularly caring for their relationship, but it sure gets off to a strong start! Another highlight of this episode (AHEM, the entire one-hour really) is the exercise Holden runs and one of his students decides to be Black and speak in “jive talk.” And then a slur! When race/sexuality gets brought up in shows like these, (mostly straight, white, male) it is frequently inadequate, but idk, something about that one scene in its brevity gave me a laugh, while feeling true and honest to the moment in time and the moment it was creating for the show.
I, at first, thought Jenny only mentioning Jonathan Groff was on-brand, but a little strange. He is fantastic in this obviously, although his character is a little frustrating and naive about how he positions his worldview. But I agree that he is charming, intelligent and well, sensitive! But I thought Holt McCallany would get some love! Meanwhile… he appears at like… the 40-minute mark. Imagine my shock! Either way, his character entrance completely changes the tone of the show in a remarkable way and the ending just makes me want to rewatch the entire damn show again.
My final rating is… 5 out of 5 stars.
DOCTOR WHO SERIES 3, EPISODE 10 "BLINK"
Mari (viewer): Let’s get this out of the way first. I enjoyed it! Carey Mulligan plays the role of a… well, I’m actually not sure? I didn’t quite catch what she does for a living, which caused some confusion for me about why she was at the house in the first place. I assume this is the first (and only time?) her character appears (Wikipedia confirmed this for me) and it took a little while for me to get into the episode for this reason. You will figure this out about me very quickly but I like CHARACTERS, and that is more important to me than, say, plot, so it was a bit of a struggle to watch a standalone episode that doesn’t necessarily build elsewhere. Saying that, the episode did a great job of making these supporting characters around Carey Mulligan feel like these epic people who lived a grand life. I especially felt sad for the black character in the hospital bed.
The production design was fun, especially the design of these horrific angels. I’ve been recently getting into horror and when we actually saw their faces change and bare their sharp teeth, my heart skipped a beat! Terrifying, indeed. I do wish we got to see a lot more of the folks living their lives in the past as I found myself drawn more to their stories than to Mulligan trying to solve the mystery in the present. The explanation of time through the DVD special features was a creative and invigorating moment though.
Once we got to the end of the episode, I was kind of like, hm, I wonder what a NORMAL Doctor Who episode is like? Would I enjoy it even without it leaning into horror? Does every episode always explain time in a similar way? Surely not, as I’m sure that would get old quick! The doctor and his partner at the end didn’t excite me so I’m thinking I would probably not be into it as much! I’m also realizing that the same way Jenny feels about American media, is probably how I feel about British media, except I think I would rather watch a British procedural (Luther, for example) than something like Doctor Who or god forbid, Downton Abbey. I’m just not a historical fiction or fantasy/sci-fi darling. Which is why I liked that this leaned more supernatural/horror!
I know Doctor Who has one of the biggest fandoms in the world and I think I wouldn’t mind cherry-picking certain episodes, like this one, to watch in the future!
My final rating is… 4 out of 5 stars.
Jenny (chooser): If you’d known me in my middle or high school years, you’d know that Doctor Who has had a significant impact on my life. To the point where I was listening to 5 different Doctor Who podcasts, I dug the internet for a copy of Russell T. Davies’ book about his experience writing reviving Doctor Who, and would religiously watch new episodes every Sunday morning (Korea time) with my sister. The thing with this show is that it does pretty much every single genre in a huge spectrum of really bad to incredible and it’s difficult to recommend the show as a fan because the show is literally over 60 years old. But “Blink” stands out as an episode that’s incredibly loved and from my understanding, has been a successful gateway episode into the show because of its superb storytelling and acting (a young Carey Mulligan!). So when I shared a clip of Bradley Cooper asking “what’s a TARDIS?” during his press tour with Carey Mulligan for Maestro and Chamari asked THE EXACT SAME QUESTION, there was absolutely no question as to what would be my media of choice for January 2024. I will forever take credit as the person who introduced Chamari to the world of Doctor Who, thank you very much.
I also chose Blink because, as Chamari mentions, they’ve been getting into horror recently! What’s interesting is that as a (past) Doctor Who watcher, I’ve never questioned what Sally (Carey Mulligan) does as a living in the episode because those details often melt away in the presence of the wider and consequential adventure of the story that revolves around time travel. Watching the episode back made me realize how Steven Moffat (writer) did indeed do an excellent job of creating the world around Sally with just the right amount of of details - something that he was lauded for during his one-off episodes before he became the showrunner and launched the show into an entirely new direction which at times… was questionable. (For context, Steven Moffat took over from Russell T. Davies when Matt Smith, the 11th Doctor, took over from David Tennant, the 10th Doctor.) Moffat is often known for his fandom inspiring storytelling (see Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock) but also reductive portrayal of women… which wasn’t really the case in this episode! I genuinely think that’s one of the biggest reasons Blink continues to be one of the great episodes of Doctor Who ‘til this day. (In a reality where Moffat dispenses his characterizations of women, he would be universally loved… but alas.)
Anyway, the weeping angels! This was their first introduction to the series, and they continue to pop up here and there as one of the classic NewWho (Doctor Who after the revamp in 2005) monsters. They are indeed terrifying! But unfortunately many subsequent appearances render horror a bit less appealing. Blink may actually be the scariest portrayal they have, but that might also be order/first introduction bias and not having watched Doctor Who in a decade!
At any rate, I would be so down to cherry pick Doctor Who episodes for Chamari or any other of my friends because the show holds so many memories of when I was growing up and discovering the power of storytelling. Kind of like Chamari, this rewatch is making me want to watch Doctor Who again, especially since the incredible Ncuti Gatwa is starting as the 15th Doctor this spring…
For February, we’ve decided to go on theme in time for Valentine’s Day. Chamari especially decided to be in theme as it is also Black History Month in the USA. Chamari will watch Before Sunrise and Jenny will watch If Beale Street Could Talk. Find out what we think next month! :)