SHOGUN, people. SHOGUN!

 

Oh my god. Oh Portugese God. Oh friggin' god of all falcons, short and long winged.

I repeat: SHOGUN!

This show, in this era, in the last decade of the most decadent and beautiful and tragic and incredibly crafted and stacked with acting talent and imagination television. In and out of all of it, this show has risen, I believe, to claim the crown of best TV show ever.

And look, I'm not trying to dance around like a fool waving war fans made out of hot take clickbait (to my single digit readership) when I say this. It is not said lightly. Also, I recognize that I am caught in the afterglow of pillowing, having just finished the series last night - and maybe I'm about to be descended upon by shinobi wearing such flags as the Sopranos or Mad Men (in my mind they are probably wearing the Americans logo). But there is nothing, there is absolutely nothing about this show that does not rate below 10/10.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of things it 10s out of 10:

• Production values including costumes, sets, props etc
• All technical visual and audio stuff - it's beautifully presented, and the score is wonderfully contributory without being ostentatious
• The acting is off the charts
• The writing (dialog) is even further off the charts - which in and of itself is amazing, but when you consider that it was written in English, then Japanese, then C17 Japanese, then back to English for subtitles ... it blows my mind
• The writing (story) is intricate, so well thought out, it's tragic (like tears, man, prepare to shed some tears), it's at times funny, and in a nod to music, maybe (in particular jazz, Ryan Gosling), it's the words left unsaid that really throw the whole pile hurdling off a cliff to be battered by waves against jagged rocks until only the option of seppuku remains. I like this. I love shows that respect the audience to figure some shit out for themselves, because the echo of realization makes the impact earned and deeply resonant
• The actors are all amazing - yes Hiro Sanada, obviously, Anna Sawai (moment!!) and Cosmo Jarvis are all tremendous, like these are all Emmy performances; but then you get to the second level: Tadanobu Asano who plays Yabushinge, Takehiro Hira who plays Ishido are just two of multiple; and then you get to the third level: Moeka Hoshi who plays Fuji, and Hiroto Kanai who plays Omi, and the list goes on ... the height of skill and the depth that the talent reaches is amazing. And then when you consider all of these folks are native Japanese speakers (or if they're not, then holy moly extra kudos) and certainly not of the regular Hollywood circuit, well then ... simply, wow (incidentally, as we have moved into the Representation Era of Hollywood, we have seen the unearthing of some seriously amazing Asian talents)
• The little details such as letting Japanese people speak Japanese (I think this is the way it should be), or the slight deviations in translation from party to party (Mariko, you are the slyest of devils) - something that each speaker at one point or another worries about and sometimes directly confronts the translator over - all these details equal crazy levels of realism that enrich the show, like a 48 hour tonkotsu stock

Anyway, maybe I'll write a separate spoiler-y discussion post but for now I'm still reeling in the whole aftermath of it all (I watched episodes 9 and 10 last night) and my heart hurts. But, it is also overjoyed to have watched this series, and I had to say something. So if you haven't started it yet, friggin' go press play on Shogun already. And get ready, you shitbag barbarian, get ready for a journey for which you could never have prepared anyway.

2023 best tv shows I watched

Yeah this is late. This has been sitting in drafts since December. So sue me.

Here's my list of favourite shows from 2023. It may be incomplete because let's face it, there's a heck of a lot of tv shows released every year and since they're all streamed, I frankly can't remember when exactly they were released and/or concluded. Anyway.

The Bear - loved season 2. Loved it. I wrote a separate post about Syd's day off (with a narcissistic twist, natch), but the episodes on Marcus, on Richie, and on Christmas were all so incredibly good. Each one of those episodes is a triumph to be lauded, and they all happened in the same 10 episode season which is a capital A Achievement.

Party Down - loved season 3. Loved it. I was scared that I would miss Lizzy Caplan too much, because obviously Casey and Henry's chemistry is a huge part of what sold and drove the show previously. But you know what, Jennifer Garner is terrific and delightful. Plus I already loved Zoe Chao, and Tyrel Jackson Williams held up to the rest of them really well. He was LOL good! And also, the twist at the end made me ache and yearn for season 4, so well done there producers.

Blue Eye Samurai - love Maya Erskine so much. Love the animation style so much. It's one of the most beautiful, rich, striking, you name it - animated shows to look at, it and the Bad Batch. But the story is very good as well, engrossing, and the cast. But Maya Erskine man, she is on a heater.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters - speaking of heaters, Anna Sawai anyone?? Man alive, I watched Pachinko finally (not a 2023 show, more below) and noticed her for the first time in her small but impactful role. And then Monarch comes out, and while the main draw I would say is the Russells' casting (not quite Yellowjackets level of casting because obviously they're related - but pretty damn great), Anna Sawai is AWESOME. She's mesmerizing. But also, you know what, I was subjected to the Kong vs Godzilla trailer before a movie recently and holy moly, is this show ever NOT about that crap. It is, obviously, and it takes place in that universe (the movie universe is directly referenced in the show), but I don't think two properties out of the same family could be any different. I guess Marvel (Iron Man or Loki vs Falcon and Winter Soldier or whatever that last Ant Man thing was) or DC (any movie vs Poison Ivy or Peacemaker) stuff, where one thing is so good and one other thing is so bad. Note to studios: the character centric piece is always the good one, and the generic CGI garbage is the bad one.

The Last of Us - what else is there to say? The power of the Pedro. And yeah, I love seeing Melanie Lynskey pop up whenever and wherever she can. But Pedro, he's the man. And cannibals, I mean, are there ever worse villains than cannibals? The spore peeps aren't even really that bad, you just gotta play the quiet game! But cannibals, you know. No one wants to be eaten. But also Bella Ramsey - the mall episode was a great episode of tv. Anyway, don't be reduced to an ear on the floor, Bella Ramsey.

The Diplomat - I was unsure prior to watching this whether I'd like it. A dialog driven show about political horse-trading is not my usual go-to. But Keri Russell is stellar, as she was in the Americans - not the same, but similarly strong and compelling, and you want to root for her. And I did.

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (plus honourable mention to Picard s3*) - Anson Mount's Captain Pike is, I think, the best captain since Picard - but the crew is the best crew since dare I say TOS? And the Spock and Nurse Chapel thing is electric! And the musical episode, I mean c'mon, I am an absolute sucker for musical episodes**. But mostly the Spock Chapel will they won't they, with wise old dad Captain Pike watching over them all. That's comfort, folks.

*Fan service done to perfection, is what Picard s3 was.

**It's really mostly Once More With Feeling, the Buffy musical episode.

Beef - some of my friends didn't love it, or even like it enough to finish it, which surprised me. Some loved it. I loved it. I loved Steven Yeun's impotent rage, which I guess I related to, certainly in my younger years. I loved when he went to church and fell awash to his emotions, which I could not relate to, though very much enjoyed watching play out, and empathized or maybe celebrated (the feelings, not the church). I loved the wild ride of it all, with all the shocking escalations right through to the trippy denoument. But mostly the impotent rage felt by these visible minorities, that drew me in.

Warrior - and the opposite, the potent rage of these Chinese immigrant BMFs. Wow. What a way to go out! Yes I'm sad they had to end their run, damn you low ratings. But the production value and the stories of despair from both from the Chinese and Irish factions, the people being trod upon, and the father son story, and the blood vs found family story (stories?), Chao's story!, hell the whole southern side trip with Chao and Lee, and the Hong and the lounge singer story too. Strong exit, my brothers. Sad to see you go, but what a mark you left.

Honourable mentions: Silo, Scavengers Reign (what an imagination), Pachinko (yes this was from 2022 and should have been on that list, I didn't get around to watching it until this year - and it is indeed phenomenal), Poker Face, Jury Duty (just, I mean, Ron Gladden was caught on camera being a damned saint, is really the only reason why), Midnight Mass (also from yesteryear (2021), but everyone was clamouring about House of Usher and I watched it, and frankly it was meh - but seeking out answers as to why Mike Flanagan was so popular, a friend suggested I watch Midnight Mass which was his favourite, so I did, and I loved it), Barry, Fargo (solid season thanks to Juno Temple and also the friggin sin eater).

Shows others loved but I thought let's just be friends: Dead Ringers (I have a real problem watching shows where everyone is detestable), I'm a Virgo.

Special mentions: Yellowjackets - man alive I wanted to like s2 more but I guess it's just real hard to follow up such a phenomenal debut season. Same goes for Our Flag Means Death.

I still haven't watched Reservation Dogs yet, which I know is a mistake. I also haven't watched Succession, but much like Game of Thrones, I probably never will.

2024 is already shaping up to be very solid (SHOGUN!! with Anna Sawai!!), so stay tuned when I release that list in July 2025.

More Civil War chat

I was reading an article on an entertainment website about Unfrosted, the Jerry Seinfeld Pop-Tart movie, and I made the mistake of clicking on another article about Civil War, and how Alex Garland really made a fatal slash unforgivable mistake of not picking a side. And I can't believe people are still up in arms about this, writing new articles about this, for multiple reasons.

a. has this critic not already decided who should have been labeled as good and who was bad (the answer is, they have), and if so, why do they need straight up exposition on this?

And b. what is this gross self-righteousness to say the film is diminished or even ruined (?!) because they weren't told who is good and who is bad, because clearly the bad guys are the bad guys and you are gutless if you can't say who the bad guys are,

And c. if you're so blinded to the message, the beauty or the achievement of the movie because of the lack of political labeling, then you should not be a movie critic,

And d. e. f. and fucking z. already. Z. being shut up.

If your view is this could have been a great movie, if only Alex Garland put red or blue patches on the soldiers, but since he did not it's garbage, you need to shut up.

As I said, my mistake for clicking on the article. Please, people, don't click on any more articles about Civil War. But do see the movie, because it's amazing.