Jacob Oller

The Good Lord Bird is funny and strange, often entertaining and rarely self-serious.

The anthology’s episodes live in a middle ground between the concentrated characterizations found at the beginning of AAA genre blockbusters and the slow-burn indie films that intertwine and develop the relationship between its sci-fi selling points and its central humans. Most solid when they create a sense of place, which happens about half the time, these dour stories shine lights onto awful parts of the world—but the light is dim, the reveal isn’t scary, and we all have enough hollow downers already.

A Wilderness of Error is a bit more entertaining than browsing the relevant Wiki articles, but it’s a hell of a lot longer and ultimately less satisfying because, unlike that gathering of information, it sacrifices clarity for drama.

Smart and crunchy rather than sleek and slick, Raised by Wolves won’t be for everyone. It’s tragic, thought-provoking sci-fi that works through its problems rather than relying on big flashy twists. But for those itching for something unabashedly weird and devoted to its own rules, the show won’t disappoint. ... It’s a world built to last and a show built for fans of Scott’s particular brand of imperfect, muscly fence-swings.

While Lovecraft Country’s plot moves fast, fast, fast—with head-spinningly quick consequences seemingly abandoned, only to manifest as high concept plots themselves—there’s so much good to hold onto that its pages turn themselves. Thanks to its perspective, the exploration of wild dreams and strange justifications of an unjust society, as well as the magical bounties residing in its oppressed corners, shines.

The second season, subtitled Angel of Darkness after the novel of the same name by source author Caleb Carr, improves its storytelling significantly while maintaining one of the most interesting aesthetics on air.

Bent, diluted, and deluded are all good ways to describe this take on Brave New World.

I vaguely enjoyed what I watched, and there’s a pull to keep going. It’s a mild pull, more echo than shout, and one whose call I probably won’t answer right away, but it’s there regardless.

The originality and verve of the first season sparkled with its original explorations of the mundane; here that evaporates in bleak, brutal episodes where any optimism previously shown towards self-improvement and faith are dashed against a cynical series of anecdotal beachheads.

Whereas Homecoming’s initial mystery was engrossing, its second is simply unfocused. It’s not that it’s hard to follow, it’s just hard to figure out why we’re following it like this.

While there’s plenty of merit being preached in The Midnight Gospel, I don’t find the delivery method of its sermon particularly convincing, digestible, or enjoyable. But, hey, as someone who watched the show stone-cold sober, your religious mileage may vary.

Don’t worry, it’s still funny.

Tales from the Loop is that rare sci-fi show: one that trusts us to breathe in deep the oddities of its world, accept that we aren’t going to know everything, and climb aboard anyways. That trust, built with its tactful scene-setting and human-sized troubles, allows for easy investment in deceivingly simple dramas. If the rest of the episodes are as touching, moving, and casually engaging as what I’ve seen from The Loop, Amazon already has one of the year’s sharpest pieces of sci-fi.

The pigheaded optimism and pessimism rampant among this tragic, stubborn political hodgepodge is composed of some unbelievable characters and others all too real. Together, arcs can sometimes seem conspicuously constructed; other times they’re so out-of-control that it’s hard to believe it holds together. ... Uncomfortable as it is, it’s all immaculately crafted. The Plot Against America is another crash course in history, sociology, and political science from The Wire team that has all the power of a waking nightmare.

Season 3 may have expanded its story to a worldwide class conflict, but it still feels like its scope scaled down for the better as it hurdles towards a conclusion perhaps tragically predestined to reverse the power dynamics of the original park.

The first few episodes are so full of smirk-inducing, long-winded bits that stammer on for such prolonged, repetitive back-and-forths that you’d think Judd Apatow let the cast run wild. ... Sometimes Mythic Quest’ll try for romantic or feel-good subplots that just utterly crash and burn, with little blame resting on their actors. ... Not just an unfunny comedy, but an entirely ineffective show that doesn’t seem to know what it is or where it’s going in a second season that Apple has already greenlit.

Locke & Key may mete out its genre goofiness over the course of a slump-filled first season, but if you want more than morsels to sustain you, there are plenty of similarly-toned shows without the barrier to entry.

King has never been the best at juggling his tones, and Price’s adaptation doesn’t set itself apart. When confronted with its own worst impulses, The Outsider embraces rather than confronts the silly monster tale lurking within.

If you can circumnavigate or weather the quick and unforgiving narrative beginnings—like if you have a background with fantasy, a knack for rolling with crazy shit, or a general love for Witchery things—and buy into the tone, The Witcher has lots to love.

Harley Quinn is funny, ballsy, and willing to take risks for better characters. ... DC Universe subscribers will be thrilled by its comedy amusement park while casual fans of Harley or smart animation may find themselves with a new reason to subscribe.

Servant is an unfocused yet ultimately creepy good time with enough character and charm to keep its hazy nightmare from lulling you to sleep.

For All Mankind is doing so much right with astronaut fiction—grounding it in mundane lives and historicity, while separating it from its big names and dates enough to reach for something more profound than documentary—that minor bumps only rattle the otherwise smooth ride in an exceptional craft. For All Mankind pursues greatness, succeeds, and plants an Apple flag for the world to see.

Overly cute-’n-sexy dialogue bathes you in college smarm before throwing you the toaster of midlife crisis cliche.

Watchmen’s HBO sequel series from Damon Lindelof isn’t perfect in this regard, but it’s easy to watch, tough to pin down, and well worth working through.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? does a few difficult things in just a single episode. ... But most importantly, it stands out as a show that is just as enjoyable for the young horror geeks as the nostalgic horror geeks looking back on where they came from.

Creepshow’s first pair of ghoulish tales so solidly nail what made the original so beloved (an unabashed sense of look-what-we-can-get-away-with fun) that it’s easy to get swept up in its own appreciation for the dark material. It might not all be perfect in the coming episodes, but it’ll certainly be a good gamble.

Criminal’s two sides, interrogator and interrogatee, simply don’t have the characterization or passion to keep its hyper-realistic war waging. The actors do their best with their scripts, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle-esque twists answer each too-subtle premise. A tactical disconnect hamstrings a competent cast and makes each case’s resolution feel as transparent as the right side of the one-way glass.

Undone is ambitious to a fault, beautiful as all get-out, but more enjoyable when its focus doesn’t stray too far from its great lead performance.