Sweet Tooth (Season 1): A Promising Start

Written by Mike

Sweet Tooth’s story takes place in a world that has almost been destroyed by a terribly lethal disease commonly known as “The Sick”. It is about a boy named Gus who, like many other children born around the same time that The Sick appeared, is a hybrid. Hybrids are children that have taken on the aspects and abilities of different animals; Gus has deer antlers and heightened senses. He goes on a journey across the United States to find his missing mother whom he has never met. We follow Gus along his journey as he meets new allies and discovers the evils of this new world created by The Sick.

This is a coming-of-age story wrapped up in a post-apocalyptic adventure with a dash of mystery added in. Running parallel to Gus’ adventure is the story of Doctor Singh whose wife has The Sick, but due to apparently miraculous medical research, she has survived for years with the disease. This leaves us to wonder; what is the treatment for the sick? Is there a cure? What is the connection between The Sick and the hybrids? I must give an accolade to the creators of the show; they did a very good job of creating a narrative in which they do not answer all the questions to leave the show open for its inevitable second season, but they also do not make you feel like the first season is incomplete.

The show has 8 episodes, and it does a very good job with its storytelling. The smooth tone of the narrator (James Brolin) frames each episode with a type of warmth that pulls you in. Sweet Tooth strikes a perfect balance when it comes to pacing. Each episode takes its time to ensure that you enjoy yourself along the way, but at the same time feels like it packed in an hour and a half of story into a roughly forty-five-minute runtime. This tells me that the show writers know exactly what they want to say and exactly how to say it to both elicit the desired feeling from the audience and be efficient at the same time.

While post-apocalyptic settings tend to be great backdrops for violent conflict, the series so far has focused on world building, character development, and the dramatic aspects of the story. While there is a very apparent tension that continues to rise as each episode progresses the show has only dipped its toes into the real action that is sure to come. The suspense begins to build when Gus encounters and is target by The Last Men; a powerful faction made up of some of the remnants of the U.S. military that hunt hybrids due to the belief that they bring The Sick.

The characters of the show are all done well. One of the greatest parts of watching a series in my opinion is being able to watch characters develop and grow. This is one of the reasons that shows like Game of Thrones were so popular; people like seeing characters be changed by the many life altering events of their individual stories. In Sweet Tooth’s first season we are introduced to a few different characters, and each of them changes greatly over the season’s runtime. For now, only one season of character progression has taken place, but I am very interested in seeing how characters will change as the show goes on.

I will wrap this review up by saying that I rate season 1 of Sweet Tooth as Above Average on my five-tiered scale (Bad, Below Average, Average, Above Average, Excellent). While the show doesn’t change the way that we should look at how a series is made it has set itself up for future success by creating an interesting world, likeable characters that can be related to, and a captivating mystery just waiting to be unraveled.

Invincible (Season 1): The Gold Standard for Comic Book T.V. Series

Written by Mike

What if superheroes were real? Not like we see in the movies, but ACTUALLY real. What kinds of real-world problems would superheroes have, and what would their real-world solutions be? What kind of damage would a super-powered punch do to a “normal” human? And, of course, what kind of damage could superhumans do to our world. These questions are explored in the Amazon series Invincible; superheroes not only exist, but are relatively common. Secret government organizations partner with the various superhero groups to protect the world. Of the heroes on Earth, one stands above the rest; Omni-Man.

Invincible is the story of Omni-Man’s son Mark Grayson, a seventeen-year-old boy who begins developing his own superpowers. After all the years of looking up to his father, Mark is able to finally come into his own, step onto the superhero stage, and become the show’s title character Invincible. As Mark grows into his role as Invincible and the world of superheroes opens up to him, we begin to see that not everything is as it seems; not with the world, the superhero community as a whole, or even his father, Omni-Man.

Invincible has eight roughly forty-five-minute episodes, and the show developers do a great job of utilizing every second of screen-time. The show’s runtime is, for the most part, split between three plot strands; the development of Mark into a superhero, the formation of a superhero group known as the New Guardians of the Globe, and (the best part of the show) the mystery surrounding the extraterrestrial origins of Omni-Man. The show transitions effortlessly between character development, fast-paced superhero action, and gripping suspense as you try to piece together the puzzle that is always present in the background (and that’s all I can say without spoiling it for you).

The main characters of the show are Invincible, Omni-Man, Atom Eve, and Amber Bennet. Invincible (voiced by Steven Yeun of The Walking Dead) is the title character; he is exactly what you would imagine a person would be like if they were trying to balance a typical teenage lifestyle and being a somewhat weaker version of the strongest superhero on the face of the planet. You will see throughout the series that Mark has a lot of fun with his superpowers, but when things get serious, he is often overwhelmed. Omni-Man, or rather his voice actor J.K. Simmons, steals the show here. He is stoic, strong, and no-nonsense; he is the strongest of Earth’s defenders. The character will be a real treat for you if you ever wondered what J. Jonah Jameson would be like if he took a chill pill, put on tights, and gained superpowers. Atom Ever (voiced by Gillian Jacobs of Community) is a teenaged superhero like Invincible and dances on the line between being Mark’s friend and being a love interest. She helps Invincible with the adjustments to hero life and introduces him to the wider superhero community. The last character I want to highlight for you here is Mark’s girlfriend, Amber Bennet (voiced by Zazie Beetz of Deadpool 2). I mention this character because she is an important part of Mark’s arc and transition into being Invincible by highlighting the conflicts that can occur when duty and responsibility collide with personal relationships. Having said all of that, I want to say that this is the worst character in the show. Amber is not just unlikeable, that would be ok, but she is always presented as a down-to-earth, experienced, and wise counter to Marks inexperience and immaturity. In reality, she is self-righteous, arrogant, and self-centered, which is emphasized more and more as the show progresses.

Invincible was originally a comic book published by Image Comics, written by Robert Kirkman, and illustrated by Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley. Amazon has done a great job of bringing the property to the silver screen; I didn’t read the comics, but my understanding is that the show is very faithful to its source material with the biggest changes being Amber’s conceited personality. If you do not mind the very realistically gory fight scenes, then this is one not to miss. For these reasons, I rate this show as excellent on my five-tiered scale (Bad, Below Average, Average, Above Average, Excellent)!

Midnight Mass: A Dark Mystery Worthy Of It's Name

Written by Mike

Midnight Mass takes place on a drab, dull island most likely off the coast of Maine. On the island is a small fishing village with just over one-hundred residents named Crocket. Crocket is the quintessential small town; everyone knows everyone, there is a “town doctor”, and the one cop, the sheriff, has just a small office in the back of the local grocery store.

The story starts by introducing us to Riley Flynn as he returns to Crockett, his home town, after serving time in prison for killing someone while drunk driving. As the audience we follow the perspective of Riley as he adjusts to returning home and dealing with the stigmas of the town’s people and his own feelings of guilt and failure. Things really start to get going when a new priest comes to the island to temporarily fill in for the local clergyman who has fallen ill while out of town on a trip. With the priest’s arrival, comes new life to the church and even miracles, but also odd occurrences and sightings around the island and possibly… some dark mystery.

There are seven episodes ranging from sixty to seventy minutes. The first half of the series is completely shrouded in ABSOLUTLEY exhilarating mystery that unwinds at a slow and deliberate pace. The “setup” finishes right at the halfway mark of the series with the mysteries being revealed to the audience. From there, the show switches gears from mystery/horror to thriller as the characters begin to figure things out and we head toward the finale. Throughout the show there will be little hints as to what the big reveal is going to be and if you pay attention, you may just figure it out.

Much of what happens in each episode either directly or indirectly centers around the local catholic church and is very character driven. Throughout the first act the two lead characters Riley and father Paul (the new priest in town) heavily carry the show. Father Paul is a kind hearted man who seems to have wisdom beyond his years, but also remains much more grounded and relatable than your average catholic priest. Toward the end of the show, you see how his good intentions have sadly led him into a situation that he did not mean to get into. There is a mystery surrounding the character and his motives, but you can clearly see that he is a genuinely loving man.

Riley is a troubled man carrying the guilt of his past mistakes. This character is very depressed, but also working to be a better person and resolve his inner conflicts. You will feel a connection with the character as you empathize with him and hope that he can find happiness and peace. An interesting aspect to Riley’s role in the show is his newfound friendship with father Paul; Riley is an atheist, but is also open-minded and respects the good work that Paul is trying to do for him and the town. They have many deep conversations at AA meetings hosted by father Paul through the church.

This brings us to Erin Greene. Erin is Riley’s love interest and childhood friend that had also left the island and made some mistakes in her past leaving her pregnant. As the show enters into its second act Erin takes a more central role in driving the plot and seeing the show to its conclusion. She is much more at peace with her life than Riley and is also a lot more down-to-earth than some of the other church-going characters.

The last character that I want to tell you about is Bev Keane. Now, the show does not have a traditional antagonist, but what it does have is Bev Keane. Bev Keane is a local teacher that is highly active in the church. She works as an assistant to father Paul throughout the show. Keane is the town’s holier-than-thou type character; she puts up a façade of respectful words and pleasant smiles, but clearly believes that she is better than almost everyone. Every stereotypical small town story has a Bev Keane, and it most likely will not take you long to hate her as much as everyone else in the town does.

The first thing that I want to say in conclusion is that this show was casted and acted as near to perfection as I can see possible. There is no character that I could imagine being played by another actor so I must applaud the actors and the casting director. Almost all the actors are lesser known (even if they do have a good amount of experience). It is always refreshing to not only see new faces in lead roles, but to see those new faces knock it out of the park.

I cannot really get too much into the details of the show without spoiling it, but I can say that the mystery in the first and second act way overshadows the conflict and resolution of the third act. I also thought that the conclusion of Riley’s story arc was completely underwhelming, and a huge disappointment compared to what they could have done. Having said all of that, I am going to give Midnight Mass a rating of Above Average on my five-point scale (Excellent, Above Average, Average, Below Average, Bad). It is a must-see if you have Netflix and, although I think that they could have done a better job with the finale, it is still a very intriguing and mysterious story with interesting characters that you can connect to.