Recommendations 12/2/24
December is already upon us edition
Having Thanksgiving this close to December has really screwed up my ability to be ready for Advent, something only my mother and I seem to celebrate anymore anyway. Every year we all feel like the slide from November ~12th to December 25th is incredibly, unprecedentedly fast, but I am here to claim, once again, that I cannot believe it is already December. In the world of television and other sundry entertainment, a few things are premiering in December that I’d like to make note of, although if you instead decided you just wanted to watch Hot Frosty ten times to try to understand what is going on there, I would understand.
Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (Disney+, December 3): I am not even close to an expert on the current Star Wars universe. I’m not even really an aficionado; I am a dabbler at best. One day, I will be stuck in a bunker somewhere (worst case) or on a remote farm in the Belgian Ardennes (best case) and will fill my time chronologically tracing every Star Wars property, then I will be at peace. If I’m honest with you, I’ve read a truly disturbing amount of Reylo fanfiction due to my Ali Hazlewood and Julie Soto obsessions and that is the extent of it. With all that throat clearing out of the way, I am in favor of the concept of a Star Wars show that is at least somewhat for the youth. This seems to be a Goonies situation with Jude Law, which is a unique combination of nouns that do catch my attention. Jude Law is not bad (or anything less than stunningly attractive) in anything so I am tentatively recommending this just off of that. But I do think that Star Wars tends to be at its best when it remembers real everyday people live in the universe it has created. This is why Andor works so well, and a show that shows us what shenanigans the youth are getting up to might just be what the universe needs to feel more down to earth. Or down to Tatooine, as it were.
The Sticky (Prime Video, December 6): A theme of this post might be “not sure about this show but I love X actor, so I recommend it.” This show stars Margo Martindale, one of the most frighteningly good actresses of our time, and is executive produced by (and guest stars) Jamie Lee Curtis. So, no matter what it’s about, I will be checking it out. Martindale stars as a maple syrup farmer who finds herself pushed to commit a multi-million dollar maple syrup heist. I don’t know how to recommend this any more strongly than to just write the description. Oh, it also stars that producer who fell in love with Pam on season 9 of The Office and now does PNC bank commercials.
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Netflix, December 11): I have always liked the month of December for choosing a very long book and spending as much time reading it in front of fireplaces as possible. Perhaps that was the impetus for premiering Netflix’s long-awaited adaptation of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s masterpiece in December. This is a 16-episode first of two seasons adaptation from Netflix that features a lot of input from Marquez’s estate, including executive producing from his sons Gonzalo and Rodrigo. When Netflix bought the rights, the estate stipulated the project had to be filmed in Columbia with Columbian actors. Production had an open casting call, resulting in a cast where only 30% are established actors. All of this is interesting, to say the least, but I remain cautious in my enthusiasm. I can’t think of many books less suited to adaptation than this one, and there’s no way to “gourmet cheeseburger” this story. It is confusing, complex, strange, epic, and infuriating by turns. I read the novel in two sittings on 10+ hour transatlantic flights; it is a novel that rewards total absorption and I would imagine the show is the same. I hope you check this out; I certainly will and if it’s even remotely good or bad in an interesting way, I’ll likely write about it.
Dexter: Original Sin (Paramount+, December 13): Just to get this out there, I have watched most of the original series and I did not like it. I think literature that is interested in complicating our societal mores, especially around the concept of sociopathy, is in short supply and I would like to see more of it. There are a few romance authors out there exploring this, such as Brynne Weaver and Rina Kent, but it’s such a tricky subject that unless it is handled perfectly, it tends to fail for me. Dexter was interesting but messy and went on far too long as a series, but was popular enough that it has suffered from constant attempts at resuscitation. But Sarah Michelle Gellar is in this show. As a special guest star, annoyingly, but… that’s my girl. I can’t skip out on any of her attempts to revive her career. I love her to my bones and so for her sake, I wish good things and viewership upon this show.