A Maltese falcon in the Apple orchard.
This weekend, I stumbled upon a show called "Sugar" on Apple TV, and I didn’t hate, which apparently makes me strange. It's like watching a modern detective series with PTSD flashbacks to Humphrey Bogart. Honestly, it's weird but in a good way and I couldn't stop watching it - until I ran out of eps
It seems I'm in the minority because the assholes critics have not been kind to "Sugar." Everywhere I looked in the timeline, the reviews were way harsh, almost like all the TV nerds had a meeting and decided to hate on it just for kicks. I quickly stopped reading that noise, partly to avoid spoilers because I could tell from the vibe that these fucking jerks were out to ruin this thing for me and if dropping a shitload of spoilers into reviews would help with that, then spoilers there would be.
The whole thing got me thinking about how sometimes, people just can't seem to enjoy themselves for tripping over their own miserable dicks. It was front of mind when I visited my mother, and she showed me her book club's reading list, which was all miserable dick-tripping literature. It's like everyone's forgotten how to have a good time. Honestly, "Sugar" is a fucking blast if you're not taking it—or your cravat-adjacent online persona—too seriously.
I read a heap of hardboiled stuff when I was younger, and Sugar is definitely channelling that era, literally in its weird B&W cutaways. Imma gonna be adding it to my very short weekly must-watch list, and ignoring the heck out of the haters.
I am interested in the critique I read of criticism by a few here in the Berger.
Especially JB's take given he used to write reviews in the before time. I suspect its more due to as Birmo described, all popular culture stuff now driven by clicks and tearing something to shreds gets more clicks whether it be you agree with the critique and want it destroyed or you enjoy the piece and want to argue.
Guess the trick is to find others who have similar tastes who you have reliably agreed with in the past. Though there is one reviewer when they tore something to shreds I would seek it out as I would always enjoy watching/reading/listening to it.
The trailer for Sugar looks great; it's on my list for when I finish the 3 Body Problem.
One of the benefits of endless streaming services is that everyone was supposed to find their niche shows and everyone's tastes would be catered for (I neither judge nor critique those who religiously watch the Kardashians, MAFS or whatever iteration of reality TV is on at any given moment, but it's very much Not My Thing(tm)) and this trend of sneering, monocle wearing superiority in reviews is very aggravating and disappointing. Let people watch the stuff that makes them happy FFS.