It seems a bit absurd to make this qualification, given that What We Do in the Shadows is a show about vampires – subject matter that usually falls readily into the macabre territory – but damn, the latest episode is a dark twenty minutes of television. A thoroughly enjoyable twenty minutes to my sensibilities, but…
If you can divorce yourself emotionally, there is a sort of pleasure in watching the growing pains of a freshman show. Sometimes it’s the unmitigated delight that we as humans – perverse critters that we are – feel watching a chain reaction train-wreck. But often it is the charm of watching a doe find it’s…
Midway through what was an all together very enjoyable and absurd fourth episode of What We Do in the Shadows, I found myself wondering if the shows are being aired in the order they were initially intended to, or if there has been a bit of a shuffle, cementing myself as clearly a very cool…
I abhor lateness, and yet here we are. I spent the past several days in a Mucinex haze (they do not sponsor my life in any way, though if they wanted to, I would take the money. Waiting on you, Mr. Mucinex), doing little beyond blowing my nose and watching Pet Sematary movies. All of…
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty (clever code, here, for “Kelly’s continued pure, unmitigated delight”) of episode 2, I have done a little bit of pro bono digging, and found that the name of the What We do in the Shadows theme song is called “You’re Dead” by Norma Tanega, and I highly recommend Youtube-ing…
I get sad on New Years. It happens, every year, without fail – December 31st through January 1st, I’m depressed, even by morose, goth standards. Through a very long history of this, there has been one thing that reliably makes me feel better and damn near human (a generally preferable way to start a year,…
To turn any beloved cult property – a book, a movie, a video game – into a tv show is an act that falls squarely between needlessly risky and wildly arrogant. There is so much that can go wrong. You are already assuming the participation of fans who are traditionally more militant than most, and…
Not enough space, dear friends, and if there were not nearly enough time, even if I could do little chronology hops like my beloved number Five. The finale of The Umbrella Academy and any potential summation of season one as a whole, would require infinite monkeys at infinite type writers, and I am but one…
A curious consequence of re-watching The Umbrella Academy is watching it through the lens of knowing the end game and where it is going. If, like yours truly, you know the source material, it’s like watching it through bifocals, rose-colored to boot. There was never any mystery, but getting there was a blast. Still, I find…
I have not, until this moment, reconciled with the notion of disclaiming spoilers. It seems abundantly clear that they will be discussed. But today and for this episode I am going to directly, loudly, full-throated, and emphatically state with a bullet: SPOILERS. Big ones. This episode breaks the dam that absolutely floods the chaos of…
Someday, perhaps, much further down the line, when all of the recaps are over and done, and I’ve said all the last words on Five and Klaus and everyone else, my notes from The Umbrella Academy could be compiled into a very strange tone poem, full of esoterica and populated by phrases like “oh Ben,…
No time for niceties, I’m afraid, my friends, we have so much to cover. The Umbrella Academy has turned out to be an embarrassment of riches, so full and vital that paring a review down to sub doctoral thesis length is an act of love and masochism (as if you could separate the two). Each…
Popular wisdom on narrative fiction suggests being concise, economical. Choose the right words and make them few. Say it fast. The world that is fascinating in your mind as a writer, that you can see so clearly, loses speed and intensity if you get too verbose. Know what it important, necessary, to tell your story,…
If – and for our purposes, this preposition is purely hypothetical and to meet a very specific ends, keep in mind, please – The Umbrella Academy had nothing else going for it, Aidan Gallagher could single-handedly carry the burden of validation on his skinny, pubescent shoulders. I’ve let my Five bias shine blindingly, but if I…
The moment I became aware of a series of comics written by Gerard Way of my chemical early twenties, there was never any danger of me being objective. I was going to love it, and I did. The show had some ludicrously large shoes to fill, and I was going to be equal parts indulgent…